RWBY: Becoming Huntsmen
by Ashardalon125
Summary: Ruby Rose is an aspiring Huntress who dreams of attending Beacon Academy. A dream that get fulfilled when she gets Ozpin's personal attention. However, admittance to the school is only the start, as she needs to prove that she belongs. Alongside other Huntsmen, they set out to prove that they truly deserve to be Huntsmen. (AU, Mostly canon non-compliant)
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"Do you have any idea how risky that was? Or how much property damage you caused? Two broken windows on the Dust Til Dawn shop alone, not to mention two more from stray Dust rounds. At least two stretches of pavement destroyed by your scythe, and several criminals injured."

"But I-!"

"No 'buts' about it!" Glynda glared down at Ruby for her interruption, bringing her wand down on the table like a crop. Ruby jumped back against the chair, a whimper escaping as she realized the head had only been an inch from her hand. "What you did tonight was dangerous and risky, not to mention well beyond what a girl your age should be doing."

Ruby averted her eyes guiltily, rubbing her hands together to ease her nerves. This was not how she wanted her night to go. "Look I'm sorry, okay? I just wanted to help!"

"Regardless of what you wanted to do, what you did was short-sighted and naive, not to mention grounds for punishment."

Ruby paled, but her fear was quickly replaced with embarrassment, turning her cheeks red. If her father found out she was in trouble… "So what's going to happen to me? I swear, I didn't meant to-"

"If it were up to me, you would be given a severe slap on the wrist," Glynda explained pointedly, her eyes narrowed. After a harsh moment, she sighed, her expression lightening. "But there's someone here who wants to meet you."

Glynda stepped to the side, and Ruby narrowed her eyes to look into the darkness, seeing a figure stepping towards her slowly. A man with a slight hobble stepped into the light, allowing Ruby to get her first good view of him, and she breathed in surprise.

It was Headmaster Ozpin, of Beacon Academy. She would recognize him anywhere, with his grey hair and the small spectacles that he was now looking over her with. He extended a hand towards her, and to her surprise, a tray of cookies with it.

"Ruby Rose…You," the Headmaster paused, seeming to be looking for the proper words to express his thoughts. His eyes narrowed, and Ruby worried he was about to start chastising her. If he started chewing her out, there was no way she could handle it. He leaned in close, and despite her anxiety, she somehow managed to hold a breath in. "Have silver eyes…"

Of all the things she had expected...that would not have been one of them. As she stumbled for words, Ozpin stood straighter, Glynda almost materializing at his side as he did so. With a cough, he began speaking while a security video of her fight began playing on Glynda's Scroll.

"So! Where did you learn to do this?"

"S-Signal Academy?" If she was in trouble, she certainly did not want them to call her Uncle Qrow. If he found out she had gotten on the wrong side of the law...well, that would be the end of her life as a Huntress.

"They taught you to use one of the most dangerous weapons ever designed?" Ozpin inquired, his tone telling her he suspected there was more. Ruby wavered, her answer hanging in her mouth.

"I...I…"

"Miss Rose, please answer the questions. Had you been in trouble, you would have been handed to the police by now. Please, relax," Ozpin assured, motioning to the cookies.

Ruby cautiously took one, looking at Ozpin and Glynda. Ozpin seemed laid back, but Glynda was keeping a glare fixed on her. Glynda had said that she would have been given punishment, but it was not up to her. Was Ozpin calling this meeting? Qrow had always spoke highly of him…

"Well, one teacher in particular...my Uncle Qrow." Ruby watched Ozpin carefully, trying to gauge his reaction. He calmly took a sip of his coffee, leaning back slightly.

"I see. I have only seen one scythe wielder of that skill level before."

"I was complete garbage before he took me under his wing," Ruby admitted with a hint of guilt. She really hoped this didn't get him in trouble. "I thought I was getting better…"

Ruby's eyes drifted guiltily towards Glynda, and the video playing on repeat. Now that she watched it from outside, she could see her mistakes. She cringed internally as she watched one of her stray shots shatter a window. It wasn't even aimed at the henchmen; just a shot to gain speed.

"I would say you had. You displayed an unusual level of skill for one so young." Ozpin set aside his coffee, placing both his hands on the table as he leaned closer, his expression growing more serious. "And what is an adorable girl such as yourself doing at a school designed to train warriors?"

Ruby's cheeks grew redder and she coughed to hide her nervousness. "Uh...I always wanted to become a Huntress."

To her surprise, Ozpin didn't seem to laugh, or even change his expression. Instead he simply sat across from her, his neutral mask staring back. "You want to slay monsters?"

"Yes," Ruby affirmed, taking a breath before continuing. "I only have two more years of training at Signal, and then I'm going to apply to Beacon! My sister's starting there this year, and she's trying to become a Huntress. I'm trying to become a Huntress because I want to help people. At least, I hope I can."

Ruby looked between the two of them, trying to gauge the reaction. Glynda's eyes seemed to have softened and she looked almost...sad? Ruby bit her lip, kicking herself internally. She was terrible at reading people, and neither of them were easy to read at all. Ozpin was even worse; he simply stared at her silently, as if processing.

"Do you know who I am?" he asked at last.

"You're Headmaster Ozpin. You run Beacon." Ruby spoke quickly, hoping she might earn some favour with knowing who he was. The corners of Ozpin's mouth curled up slightly.

"Hello."

Something about the innocuous greeting maybe Ruby smile and feel a little more relaxed, and she couldn't help but smile back. "Nice to meet you."

"So, you want to come to my school?" Ozpin leaned forward, laying his hands on the table again, though looking nowhere near as intense this time.

Ruby took a deep breath, steeling her resolve. "More than anything in the world."

She watched as Ozpin turned to the side, looking to Glynda. The woman sighed and rolled her eyes, shaking her head, but she still looked less annoyed than earlier. Ozpin turned back to her with a small smile. "Well, okay."

With those two words, Ruby could feel the weight of the world lift off her shoulders and a smile spread across her face. Today had gone from being the worst day of her life, to the best.

* * *

Ruby's focus was as strong as her scythe as she whirled it above her head, focusing every ounce of her concentration on feeling and controlling the motion. Taking a deep breath, she began to lower it, feeling the barrel straining against her attempts to reign it in.

The first tricky part was widening the circle while keeping up speed in order to accommodate her body as the pivot. A quick twist of the wrist, and she had transitioned from a top pivot to a central pivot, the momentum of the scythe wanting to tug her in every direction.

With gritted teeth, she continued lowering it until she was spinning it about her waist, all the while increasing the speed. If she slipped now, her Aura would protect her, but it would still hurt quite a bit.

A quick flick up with her palm was all it took, kicking the handle upwards. As the scythe broke the plane of rotation, she jumped forward. It lay diagonally across her back, blade facing outwards like a shark fin. With a tense of the trigger, she fired the round only moments after leaping.

The impact threw her forward, and without her feet on the ground, she began rotating, turning into a barbed drill as she flew. Grinning at her success, she activated her Semblance, feeling energy rush through her as she whizzed forward, trees flying passed her in an autumn blur.

Now to stop it.

Judging her rotation, Ruby quickly extended her arms, letting the blade catch in the earth. Rather than cling to it, she let go with one hand, feeling the world spin around her. For a moment, she was suspended upside down and looked down her arm at the scythe before twisting her body and landing on the handle. With the blade solidly planted in the earth, she was able to pause and take a look behind her.

Leaves blew passed her face on the vacuum she had caused in her passing, and she smiled proudly as she watched the trees nearest to her settle back into place. Sparing a glance behind her, she could see a broad tree in her path, now sporting a crack in its bark from the pressure wave. Any later on her stop, and she would have crashed into it.

Well, I stuck the landing. Better check how the launch was. Stepping off the scythe's handle, she planted her boots in the earth before giving a careful lift to the scythe. With just the right angle, the blade tore free from the earth, and she gave it a quick spin to get rid of some of the dirt clinging to it before collapsing it for easy transport.

"If we managed this, I'm going to give you a good polishing!" Ruby promised, hugging the compacted form for a moment before beginning to job back to where she had launched from.

She spotted the 'X' she had drawn in the earth before she spotted the actual impact. Just inches from the base of the 'X' was a charred spot in the earth, but instead of a broad conflagration, it looked like it had been cooked with a blowtorch. A small, narrow shaft extended below the surface, and Ruby carefully dug into it, carefully shielding her fingers with Aura to prevent a burn.

Ruby could not help the broad grin that came to her when she dug out the bullet, the red strip gone. It had obviously been spent, but while she had seen plenty, this one in particular was beautiful. She had done it; she had controlled her launch.

"Well, I'd say you did pretty well." Ruby turned, and was immediately tackled by a small, fluffy ball. She giggled as Zwei began licking her, and she gently pushed him aside to sit up, smiling broadly at her father.

"Do you really think so?"

"I really do," Tai confirmed, ruffling her hair with a chuckle. He smiled back at her, kneeling to look at her. For a moment, they just sat there, enjoying the warm atmosphere. Finally, Tai sighed dramatically and sat back. "I just can't believe you're going to Beacon."

"Neither can I," Ruby admitted, leaning against him. The weight of the upcoming day was beginning to make her nervous. Rolling the cartridge between her fingers, she knew she had improved, but had she enough?

She was still two years younger than everyone else there. They had two extra years of practice over her. Any Hunter in Beacon would be better than her. But Ozpin had allowed her in anyway.

"You've got that look on your face," Tai pointed out with a serious expression. "What's bothering you champ?"

"What if I disappoint someone? I've been training hard, I really have! I want Ozpin to know it was not a mistake to let me in, but if I fail, then I'll be making him look bad."

"Are you kidding me?" Tai asked with a chuckle, causing Ruby to cock her head in confusion. "Kid, you're better than you think you are. As much as your Uncle and I like to bicker, he taught you well, and if even half of what he says about Ozpin is true, then I don't think he chose to let you in without good reason. Besides, you've got my dashing good looks and skill."

Ruby had to smile at her father's over the top wink, playfully shoving him. "Don't worry Ruby. You'll do great. And even if it didn't work out, think of it like this: you got to study at Beacon, and you'll be ahead of the kids at Signal. Then when you apply to Beacon again, you'll have connections and experience. Either way, you win."

"I guess you're right," Ruby admitted, though one last thing still bothered her. "What if...what if no one likes me though? They're all going to be two years older than me. What if they think I'm just a kid?"

"Ruby, anybody who thinks that you are 'just a kid' isn't someone you want as your friend," her father advised seriously before lightening up slightly. "Besides, I'm sure there'll be plenty of people there who will like you. With how much you love Crescent Rose, I'm sure you'll be bound to find someone who likes weapons just as much as you do."

Suddenly, her father darkened and leaned in. "But if any boys make advances on you, I will break them."

"Daaaad, why are you so embarrassing!" Ruby whined, though she smiled as she fell over. Her father just laughed heartily, patting her back before getting up.

"Come on sport, let's head back to the house. You've earned yourself some cookies."

At the mention of cookies, Ruby was on her feet, tugging on her father's hand to hurry him along. Walking together, Ruby took one last look back at the spot, smiling to herself. Flicking the cartridge around in her hand, she slipped it into her pocket, patting it for a moment.

I promise I will get better!

* * *

Author's Note: This is my own personal take on RWBY. I have only personally watched up through S4, but even that knowledge is not required. This takes place in a largely changed Remnant, with some heavily altered backstory that will become apparent when it becomes relevant. Elements may be inspired by the official story, but it is by no means canon-compliant in any fashion.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Well, it was now or never.

Ruby walked up the ramp, looking around for her sister's familiar yellow hair. Yang was bound to be here somewhere; this was where first years went after all. There were so many students, and so many weapons!

She simply _had _to pause to look at some of them. Stepping off to the side, Ruby stared with unabashed excitement.

A handmade titanium flanged mace. She could tell because of the parts. Some of them were non-standard.

Collapsible staff. The articulations were obvious to the trained eye. A little too predictable for her tastes.

Ruby spent a few minutes observing weapons before remembering her task. She had to physically pull her eyes away from openly ogling a cleverly constructed arquebus. Her enthusiasm faded away into anxiety as she saw the clusters of people on the ship. Already there were dozens of them, and more were arriving.

Self consciously, she adjusted her outfit, fiddling with the bandoliers and crosses holding them together. Her fingers slid over the spent casing on her right hip, and she clutched it for a moment, steeling her resolve.

Stepping forward, she tried to walk with an air of purpose and confidence, trying her best to ignore the occasional glance she got. Looking at the other students, she could tell that they were older than her, but not by much. When she had imagined Beacon Academy, she had expected big, strong men and powerful, athletic women. What she saw were students just like her. A few here and there who were obviously physically talented, but it still surprised her how...normal they looked.

Until she saw a flash of red hair, freezing her in place. Ruby blinked, unsure of what she was seeing. _Who _she was seeing. Pyrrha Nikos, the four time Mistral Regional Tournament champion. Ruby would recognize her red hair and bronze armour anywhere.

_She can't possibly be going to our school, can she?_ A part of Ruby wanted to go ask for an autograph, but she was equally terrified of talking to somebody so _cool_. So instead she settled for just staring in blatant awe at the woman's weapons for a moment.

A familiar cheer rose above the crowd, and Ruby stood on tiptoe, trying to look over the students, catching a glimpse of yellow. _Yang_. Eager to make sure her sister wasn't causing any issues, she cautiously pushed through the crowd, muttering apologies.

To her immense relief, Yang wasn't actually causing a scene, just being Yang. Her half-sister had an energetic glint in her eyes and was looking out the windows with a bright smile. "Yang!"

"Ruby?" Yang perked up immediately, turning to look at her younger sister with an even broader smile. Before she could react, Ruby found herself in a positively bone crushing hug, made all the more tight by her sister's gauntlets. "Aw, did you come here to see me off? That's so sweet."

"Ah well...actually, you see the thing is…" Ruby fumbled, trying to figure out how to break the news to her sister. To her credit, Yang was silent and patient, letting her take the time to compose her words. "I'm kind of going to Beacon too?"

For a moment, it looked as if Yang hadn't heard anything, but that illusion was crashed as soon as her smile came back. It was a frighteningly large one too, and Ruby swore that she could hear her vertebrae snap when Yang hugged her again. "Yang...please…"

"I can't believe my baby sister is going to Beacon with me!" Yang cheered, seemingly oblivious to the lack of breath Ruby was receiving. To her lungs' relief, the hug was brief, and Ruby was more than content to stagger back a bit as she tried to remember how to breathe. "This is the best day ever!"

Ruby waved off her energy, noticing the glances returning. The words 'baby sister' rang loud in her head. "Really sis, it was nothing."

"What do you mean? It's incredible!" Yang insisted before nudging her with an encouraging wink. "Everyone at Beacon's going to think you're the bee's knees."

"I don't want to be 'the bee's knees!'" Ruby hissed, feeling her panic rising as the others looked on. It was a struggle to keep her voice down. "I don't want to be any kind of knees. I just want to be a normal girl with normal knees."

"What's the matter Ruby?" Yang's expression mellowed a bit, and she spared a glance around, seeing things her excitement had blinded her to. For a brief moment, her eyes widened in realization, before a small smile covered it. "Come on Ruby, let's find a place to kick back!"

Ruby followed her sister closely, letting Yang lead (and push her way) through the crowd to a couple of seats by the window. Yang let herself fall back onto the seat easily, while Ruby fidgeted herself into place. "I'm just...I got moved ahead two years. I just don't want people to think I'm 'special' or anything. I want them to think I'm skilled, but not in a weird way."

"You are special Ruby," Yang assured, putting an arm around her sister, which Ruby returned, leaning against her sister. "You just-"

"_Another robbery occurred, lead by none other than Roman Torchwick, who continues to evade authorities._" Ruby motioned for Yang to stop as she looked up at one of the screens that had been playing when they arrived. Yang obliged, looking at the report, slightly confused. A pair of mug shots of the orange haired criminal flashed up, and Ruby frowned. Even without his bowler hat, the man looked satisfied with himself, and she clenched her fist at the thought of him still being out there. It seemed that while she had thwarted one robbery, he was still at it. "_If you have any information about his whereabouts, please contact the Vale Police Department. Back to you Lisa._"

Ruby tuned out as the face of Lisa Lavendar popped up on screen. Her mind was too occupied with the face of Torchwick. She hadn't been able to stop him on her own, and if Glynda hadn't stepped in, she would have taken a nasty hit, or been killed.

Shaking her head, she willed the thoughts away. She couldn't dwell on that; she had to focus on getting stronger. Now she'd have a team, and she'd do her best to back them up.

The sound of hydraulics snapped Ruby into attention, and through a small gap in the crowds she could see the boarding ramp begin to clamp up. The PA system dinged briefly, and the screens were replaced with a fading-in image of Glynda.

"Hello, and welcome to Beacon!" The holographic-Glynda greeted.

"Who's that?" Yang asked. Ruby was about to reply when the hologram continued.

"My name is Glynda Goodwitch. You are among the privileged few who have received the honour of being selected to attend this prestigious academy. Our world is experiencing an incredible time of peace, and as future Huntsmen and Huntresses, it is your duty to uphold it."

Ruby couldn't help the small snicker that escaped her as she remembered finding Yang standing over a man she had punched through a wall only weeks earlier. "Peaceful" was not a word she would use to describe her sister. Fortunately, holo-Glynda continued before Yang could ask her what was so funny.

"You have demonstrated the courage needed for such a task, and now it is our turn to provide you with the knowledge and training to protect our world." With a small nod, the image faded out, and Ruby suddenly realized she could see the world moving by. At some point during the speech, they had taken off.

"Wow!" Ruby jumped up from her seat, rushing over to lean against the glass. Even though she had seen the view before, it still caught her off guard. From here, she could see all of Vale, including the sprawling fields spreading to its southeast. Even more humbling was the fact that she could see the entirety of Patch, including the towers of Signal.

Living on Patch, she had always felt like Vale was a good distance away, being separated by the channel. With the risks of water travel and the cost of flight, there weren't a whole lot of reasons to go to Vale. But right now, it looked almost like she could have walked between them.

"You can see Signal from up here," Ruby announced quietly. "I guess home isn't too far after all."

"Beacon's our home now." Yang put her arm back around Ruby, and the two stared out at the small island that had been their home. It was a humbling moment, and with the weight of her scythe on her back, Ruby felt like she was headed for something great.

* * *

"Hey guys!'

Yang enthusiastic greeting resulted in Ruby getting thrown off balance as her sister rushed forward to hi-five her friends. Greetings were exchanged, and quick discussions were had.

"You got in too?"

"We should catch up!"

"How's it hanging?"

Ruby just watched quietly for a moment, before turning away, busying herself with everyone else getting off the ship. This wasn't her moment; it was Yang's. These were her friends, that was fine, it was what friends did. She wouldn't get in the way of that.

"Uh...Yang?" she started, before realizing she had no idea what to say next. Still, with her sister's eyes on her, she felt like she had to continue. "Uh, we should...you should...you should catch up with your friends, yeah?"

Yang was silent for a moment before the concerned smile appeared. "It's okay if you want to-"

"No, it's alright. We can meet up at the auditorium for orientation," she suggested, trying to get out of the situation. She was all too aware of Yang's friends looking at her, and judging her. _Isn't that Yang's younger sister? What is she doing here? Is she going too?_ "Besides, I want to uh...stay here and look at weapons some more."

Ruby tried to conjure the most confident smile she could, but felt like she was a kid with her hand in the cookie jar. She could see the conflict in her sister's eyes. "Trust me sis. I'll be fine, okay?"

"Alright. I trust ya. See you there!" With a bone crushing hug, Yang waved to her with a bright smile before practically being absorbed by her group of friends, leaving Ruby to watch them go with conflicted feelings.

Exhaling, she tried to calm herself. She could do this. She'd just watch for a bit. Yeah, that would help her. Maybe she could even make small talk. That was a thing people did. Normal girl, normal talk, normal knees.

That proved to be a bit harder than she expected. Everyone was either swarmed by their friends, or looked far too intimidating or focused to talk to. Nervously, she traced the grooves of Crescent Rose, trying to think up some way she could enter a conversation. She had no idea how Yang could do it so easily. She just...talked.

Finally, she spotted a chance. A girl was walking along, dressed in white. She wore no armour, and her weapon wasn't particularly menacing. A multi-dust rapier, if she had to guess at a glance. The trolley being pushed behind her had several cases, marked with the Schnee logo. _Dust_, Ruby guessed.

There was a common ground. Ruby's own weapon took a variety of Dusts, and she often bought Schnee brand. Maybe she could get her talking with that? Taking a deep breath, Ruby sat up, and began to stroll up.

"Hey, I noticed you've got a lot of Dust. You-?"

"And who are you?" The girl turned to her, looking supremely unamused. Ruby was caught off-guard by the sudden inquiry, and stammered a moment before snapping back to reality.

"I'm Ruby...Ruby Rose. I saw your weapon and your Dust."

"And? What about them?"

Ruby bit her lip. Was she annoyed? Or was she doing this whole thing right? Still, this was further than she had gotten before. With a flourish, she extended her weapon to full length, touting it proudly. 'Well, Crescent Rose here is capable of taking multiple Dust types, so I thought I would ask what kinds you use."

"Wanting to leech them from me, is that it?" she asked suspiciously, narrowing her eyes.

"What? No no! I just wanted to talk, I swear!" Ruby was startled as the woman jabbed a finger at her, causing her to take an unbalanced step back.

"Listen here. I don't care what game you think you are playing at, but I will not have my family's good name being taken advantage of." With each word, the pointing got more intense, and the last one threw Ruby off balance. With her scythe in her hands, she wasn't able to catch her balance, and fell back on the trolley, knocking the cases open, spraying Dust everywhere.

And yet, the only thing Ruby could focus on was her words. "Your...family name?"

The woman looked about ready to scold her when a new voice interrupted. "Weiss Schnee. Heiress to the Schnee Dust Company. Same Dust you are sitting in."

The new girl looked almost the opposite of Weiss. Her dark clothing was far more outstanding in the brightness of the day, and her black hair was untamed compared to the side tail of Weiss. Her golden eyes appraised them in an almost bored fashion.

"I see you at least know who I am," Weiss pointed out guardedly. Or at least, that was what Ruby picked up from her crossed arms. Maybe it was appraising?

"How could I not? The Schnee Company is one of the most successful Dust corporations in the world." That caused Weiss to ever so slightly lighten, a fraction of a smile edging onto her lips. She prepared to retort when the stranger interrupted again. "And one of the most controversial due to its use of Faunus slave labour."

"Excuse me? Who exactly are you to make such allegations? I will have you know that Schnee Dust is a perfectly legitimate business."

"Sure it is. Whatever helps you sleep at night, princess." Weiss never even got a chance to retort as the girl turned, leaving them both to simmer in her words. Ruby took advantage of the moment to grab some of the vials of Dust, trying to put them back in the case. Lifting one, she extended it out to Weiss.

"Sorry about that," Ruby tried, hoping it would be enough. Weiss snatched the case from her hands casting a glare that Ruby was not sure was entirely directed at her. "I...I didn't mean to."

"Well, since it was an honest accident, I will choose to forgive you," Weiss said pointedly, before cracking an eye to look at her, then glanced down inside the case, counting the vials. Satisfied, she motioned for Ruby to step to the side as she handed to case to the man moving the trolley.

Ruby knelt down retrieving a few of the vials, handing them to the man. "I am so sorry about that. I promise I'll make it up to you."

Weiss looked down at her with obvious disbelief, but reigned it in quickly. "Do you know who I am?"

"Weiss Schnee? Uh...Heiress?"

Weiss looked down at her, and Ruby could not read her expression. It seemed almost...pitying? Sad? It was gone before Ruby could read it though. "Do you know what that means?"

"You...have a lot of Dust?" Ruby tried. What was Weiss looking for here?

To her surprise, Weiss cracked a small smile. "That is one way of looking at it, yes. If you want to impress me, you will have to work hard. Surprise me, Ruby Rose."

With that, Weiss waved her porter to move along, and turned on heel, but not in a huff. Ruby watched her go, thoughts too jumbled to make sense of it all, or even straighten out. In the end, she ended up sighing and sitting back on the bench.

Had she offended Weiss? What if she didn't like her? Then there was the whole Heiress business. That meant she was in line for the company, but why was she here?

"Hey there. You look kind of down."

Ruby snapped up in surprise, almost hitting the hand extended to her in the process. The young man offering it jumped back in surprise. "Oh uh, sorry, I was lost in thought. What did you say?"

"Just noting you were looking down. You okay?"

"Y...yeah, I'm fine. Thanks for asking. Uh...did I miss your name?"

"Jaune Arc. Short, sweet, rolls off the tongue. Ladies love it."

"They do?"

"They will...I hope." Ruby had to chuckle at his nervous smile, and she took his hand.

"Ruby Rose. Pleased to meet you."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"So...I saw you on the transport. You from Patch?"

"Yeah, near Signal. My family never moved far from the craft you know?" Jaune explained with a shrug. Ruby nodded as they walked along the cobbled paths, taking in the sights. Everything was so open and grand; there was nothing like this back on Patch!

"Your parents were Huntsmen?"

"Most of my family history is," Jaune said with pride, straightening up. Ruby smiled at the image. With his armour and sword, he almost looked like a knight out of a storybook. Maybe not quite as armoured, but it was the sword she was interested in.

She couldn't help but look. The blade was in a sheath, and she had to admit, the crossguard was not that impressive. It looked like faded gold, and the handle seemed to have been done with some kind of blue leather. Definitely older. She tried to suppress a twitch in her hands as she looked at it.

She wanted to touch it, to test the balance. Was there a trigger in the handle? What was the core forged with? She wanted to try swinging it, see how heavy it was compared to her scythe.

"Uh...Ruby? You there?"

"What! Uh...sorry, were you saying something?"

"You kind of zoned out there. Is something wrong with my sword?" Jaune's voice began to rise with panic, and Ruby had to stifle a laugh as she waved off his concern.

"No no no! I was just...thinking about it?" Ruby was not entirely sure how she could explain it. She'd tried before but that had been less than successful. She was surprised as Jaune drew the weapon, offering it to her.

"Go ahead," he said with a smile, though she heard his voice waver. Was the sword heavy? Maybe he was nervous? Whatever the cause, Ruby was grateful as she carefully gripped the handle, taking a step back as she raised it. Definitely weighted like a longsword.

She gave it a careful swing, testing the balance. Weighted towards the handle, with a tapering tip. With a small smile, she moved into a quick series of slashes, culminating in a small spin with the handle before she offered it back to Jaune.

"Wow...I have never seen someone do that!" The excitement was clear on Jaune's face as he took his sword back.

"I'm not really all that great. That's all I know how to do with a sword. Not really my style. I'm used to a heavier weapon, so it was a little easier to control, if not a little fast. If I had to actually fight with it, I would probably fall over a lot."

"So, what's your weapon?"

Ruby grinned as she unclipped Crescent Rose, giving it a small flourish as she used the bolt to pivot it. A flick of a trigger, and the weapon unfurled, causing Jaune to jump back, panic evident on his face. "Is that...a scythe?"

"It's also a fully customizable, high impact sniper rifle. Built her myself," Ruby boasted, running her hand lovingly along the barrel. "Granted, a bunch of the parts are standard issue, but putting them together like this took a lot of effort."

"That's incredible!" Jaune exclaimed, looking like an excited child.

"So...what does your sword do?" Ruby asked. When she had held it, she hadn't felt any trick releases, or unusual weightings. Maybe it was Dust infused, or reacted with Aura instead.

"Oh uh…" Even Ruby could read the enthusiasm dying on his face as he lifted the sheath off his belt. Ruby cocked her head before jumping slightly as the sheath expanded with the sound of sliding metal, expanding into a shield.

"Oooh, that's cool. How does it work?" she asked, feeling the twitching in her hands again as she collapsed her weapon. Jaune chuckled nervously, before sighing.

"I'm honestly not sure. It was my great-great-grandfather's...from the war. Kind of a...family heirloom."

"Mind if I take a look at it?" Ruby asked, feeling a little nervous. This was an antique weapon, and one with such value. She wasn't sure Jaune would like her probing.

"Go ahead." Ruby blinked in surprise as he handed both parts to her easily. He didn't even seem to realize as she stood like a deer in the headlights, as he just kept smiling. Eventually, she realized that she wasn't moving, but more importantly, she had a classic in her hands.

Reverently, she turned the weapons around in her hands. The sword appeared to just be a sword, but it certainly fit perfectly into the shield. Carefully, she handed the sword back to Jaune before pulling out her scroll, and turning on the light. Angling it so it illuminated the insides, she peered in, wishing she had her lenses on her. They made it much easier to deal with sprockets and springs.

Staring down, it looked like a pretty simple system, but given the age, she wasn't surprised. The handle had a small internal clamp that allowed it to release the pressure sprockets in the base, which swung out on reinforced tracks. She would have to get a pressure gauge to know precisely how strong it was, but given the kick when she unfurled it, it was noticeable.

It vaguely reminded her of a weapon she had seen back in Signal. A Mistrali kid had made it. The general idea was that the sheath doubled as a sort of force multiplier, using an internal spring system to give the blade some extra kick on release. A lot of people had started copying the same design style.

"Looks like a dual sprocket bar release," Ruby surmised, offering it back with a smile. Jaune just stared at her blankly for a moment.

"You...you could tell that just by looking?"

Suddenly, Ruby could feel the colour flush from her face. She could tell _that_ tone; disappointment. She had...seen that enough. "Oh, don't worry too much about it. I just...spend a lot of time with weapons. So...you thought about taking advantage of that more?"

"What do you mean?"

Ruby had to suppress a sigh of relief as Jaune's disappointment faded to confusion. Turning the shield, she motioned for Jaune to hand the sword back. "So, here's what I mean. First, you have the sword in the sheath, right? Then, the bad guys show up, and you go like this."

Ruby held the sheath by her hip, mimicking it being fastened. "So, you grab the handle, and depress the bar. Then, the sprockets at the base release, and cause the wings to expand. BUT! Then you also have another bar at the base that is tied to the sprocket release that propels the sword out the shaft."

Ruby mimed the sword being pushed out before sweeping it out and raising the shield, moving to put it in front as her arm rotated behind her. "Then the momentum of the cut turns you, allowing you to bring the shield up faster!"

With a small smile, she slid the sword back into the sheath before handing it back to Jaune. "Or at least...I think it works like that. I'm not really a sword person. You'd probably get better advice from another sword person."

Jaune regarded the weapon, thoughts flashing across his face before he attached it to his belt, looking up with a smile. "Well, thanks for the advice anyway. I might have to consider it. Well, we should probably head to the orientation. Do you know the way?"

"I thought you did."

"Oh...I thought you did. You think there might be some kind of directory?" he asked with a small smile, causing Ruby to laugh despite her rising concern. Seeing her stifled laughter, he adopted a ponderous pose. "Maybe a food court? Some kind of visible landmark?"

* * *

Ruby could barely contain her awe as they stepped into the high-vaulted auditorium. If she hadn't looked up, she would have thought they had walked into an open air theatre. The edifice above the stage had four clock-like windows feeding light down onto the stage, while smaller ones ringed the top to allow for light from all angles.

She did feel a sense of nervousness come over her as she lingered in the doorway, looking out over the crowd. There were so many people here! Even worse, she could not see Yang. Jaune paused, looking at her in concern.

"Everything alright?"

"Yeah...just a little nervous. About all these people, I mean."

"Well, my mom always said that strangers are just friends you haven't met yet," Jaune assured her, trying his best to look confident.

"I guess...still…" Ruby trailed off, looking around. Standing on her toes, she tried her best to find her sister, but still could not see her. Maybe she was with her friends? A spot of white caught her eye, and she realized she could see Weiss.

At least that was one person she knew, even if Weiss was not exactly her "friend." She didn't have to talk to her, just hang out nearby. Something like that. Still, she wasn't sure how she would react to bringing other people along. She turned to Jaune with an apologetic smile. "I'll see you around Jaune!"

"Yeah, sure," Jaune agreed, waving half-heartedly. Ruby didn't think much of it as she slid by the crowds. Despite the large amount of people, the space of the auditorium ensured that there was plenty of room. She pivoted around a group of people, and stopped in her tracks as she saw Weiss talking with someone.

Not just someone, but Pyrrha Nikos. Ruby was sure she had been hallucinating when she saw her earlier, but this was definitely her. The tall warrior easily dwarfed both of them, and her armour added to her height by a fair bit.

Ruby had seen recordings of her fights, and her usage of her weapons was exemplary. While her shield wasn't anything special, her skill with it bordered on supernatural, and the bounces and deflections she performed with it were simply unbelievable. Her rifle was also a rare example of a three form weapon, capable of being used as a musket, a longspear, and a xiphos. All three forms were deadly in her hands.

"So, what brings you to the Academy?" Weiss inquired, looking up easily at the taller Huntress.

"I thought it might be good to experience a change of pace. Beacon has commendations from some of the best Hunters as well."

"Fair reason," Weiss agreed, nodding sagely. "How much do you know of it?"

"Not much, admittedly. I am far more used to Sanctum rules."

"That is a shame. I was hoping you might know a bit about how teams are chosen. They do have teams here, right?"

"They do," Ruby answered, before immediately feeling her throat seize up as she realized what she had done. Both Weiss and Pyrrha turned to look at her; Weiss with a flat look, and Pyrrha with a small smile.

"Oh, I am glad to hear that," Pyrrha said chipperly. "And you are-?"

"Ruby...Ruby Rose," she offered, trying to avoid stuttering. God, if she screwed up now and made a fool of herself in front of them…

"So, Ruby, tell me what you know about teams," Weiss half-commanded, motioning for Ruby to turn her attention towards her.

"Well, I don't know _all_ the details, but they change it a little from year to year. According to my dad, they take the people who appear to be the most promising in leader roles, and let them pick their teams. But part of that is after the initiation test."

Ruby paused for a second, trying to think of how best to explain it. "Beacon is built right next to the Emerald Forest, where a few Grimm live. Students are sent into the forest, and told to accomplish some task. Sometimes, you start in groups, other times you are alone. But you end up meeting a few other people that way, and assembling your team from people you meet."

"Transfers are always possible, since sometimes there are arguments, or drop-outs, but for the most part, teams stick together," Ruby summarized, trying to resist wringing her hands as both the other girls inspected her. Weiss looked aside, cradling her jaw in her hand while she thought.

"Seems designed to roughly even out the skill levels," she noted aloud before looking back to them. "Though, not unbeatable."

Ruby quirked her head. She wasn't exactly sure what Weiss was trying to "beat." The other students maybe, or perhaps the teachers? Turns of phrase were lost on her. Pyrrha seemed a little less confused, and spoke quietly. "What are you thinking?"

"Well, assuming that either one of us gets picked for a leadership role, it would not be too hard to select the other for one of the teammates. Especially if we were to meet up in the forest."

"I see. It would put the odds in our favour," Pyrrha agreed.

"Um, forgive me if it's obvious, but what are we talking about?" Ruby interjected quietly.

"Making the best team possible. Having everything be equal is fine for most people, but if you want to be the best, you have to train with the best. A strong team will be able to get itself known faster than an average or weak team. So, the natural answer is to create the strongest team," Weiss explained.

Ruby was silent for a moment, running the ideas in her mind. It made sense; forming a team with strong allies would make it easier to become stronger. After all, they were smart and well-trained, and could probably give good advice. Not to mention sparring. Practicing against someone of equal or greater skill would certainly push one to train harder.

She wanted to get better, she really did. Ozpin had seen something in her, and she didn't intend to let him down. She had already planned to study harder than anyone, and practice until she got everything down. But it seemed there were elements she hadn't considered. Even things as simple as team compositions.

It wasn't that unexpected. Even when it came to the tournaments, the team battles were carefully balanced, with the team members complementing each other. Glancing at the two other girls, she wondered what their strengths were.

Pyrrha was definitely a heavy hitter, with a bit of defense, but didn't have a lot of area control. Ruby could proudly say that she had that, both with the range of her rifle, and the area of her attacks. Weiss likely used Dust, so that gave them a fair amount of strength and flexibility.

Ruby shook her head. There was no way they would want her on their team. She was nowhere near their skill level. Though...thinking on it, Weiss had said to impress her. Maybe, just maybe there was a chance. Just the idea made Ruby nervous though.

Regardless, she had to try. If she could get even the slightest advantage, and work towards proving Ozpin right, she would. "Do you...think I might be able to make the team?"

Weiss was silent for a moment, but thankfully did not immediately reject her or laugh. Still, the silence made Ruby even more nervous, and she could feel her heart pounding in her chest. Finally, Weiss began to speak.

"Well, you certainly seem knowledgeable about the Academy, not to mention that you seem willing to try," Weiss admitted, but held up a hand to stop Ruby's retort. "However, I want you to understand that I have never seen you fight, and therefore can't make a full decision, yet. So, instead, I'll make an offer."

"When we get dropped in the forest, you are welcome to join us. While we complete our task, you can try your best to leave the best impression and show us your skills. If you succeed, you can join the team."

"And if I don't?" Ruby asked, heart in her throat.

"Well, it is always good to have allies. Whatever team you do end up on, we will keep in touch," Weiss promised.

"Seems sound enough to me," Pyrrha agreed with a shrug and a smile.

Instantly, all the worries Ruby had disappeared, and she couldn't help the grin that spread across her face. Still, she had enough control not to immediately crush Weiss with a bone snapping hug, and instead, merely bounced with restraint.

"I'll show you just how much I can do," Ruby promised.

"Hey Ruby! Over here!"

Ruby turned, and through the crowd, she could spot her sister, waving excitedly. She motioned for Ruby to come and join her. Ruby nodded, then turned back to Weiss and Pyrrha. "You won't regret this. I promise you."

"I believe you," Weiss assured her, crossing her arms with a light wave of dismissal. Despite the cool gesture, Weiss had a small smile. Ruby nodded again in thanks before slipping through the crowds with a hop in her step.

Ruby stopped just next to Yang, where a spot seemed to have been saved for her. The thought was reassuring, and she took a deep breath of relief. On the other side, she could see Yang's friends, joking and smiling about anything. Yang was half-listening, looking forward with a smile.

"How was your first day?" she asked, leaning over a little. Ruby smiled slightly, casting a glance in the direction of Weiss. The crowd had since engulfed them, but she still looked for a moment.

"Good. It went well. Made some new friends."

Now she had her sister's full attention. Yang looked over at her in blatant surprise for a moment before a smile overtook it. "Well well well! Looks like my little sis is all grown up! Who are they, how'd you meet them, and do I need to punch them?"

"Yang," Ruby sighed, lightly punching her sister. "It's not like that. Sure, there was a bit of a misunderstanding over some Dust, but that got straightened out. Nobody exploded, so that's a plus."

"When you measure it that way, I guess so," Yang agreed with a chuckle. "Now, who are-"

The sound of the speakers interrupted any further thought as someone cleared their throat. Ruby looked up, her eyes widening as she recognized Ozpin standing on the stage. A sudden feeling passed over her, like everything had become crystal clear, and all too real.

She was really here, at Beacon, studying to be a Huntress.

"I'll...keep this brief," Ozpin began.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Ruby looked up in anticipation as Ozpin adjusted his glasses, looking out over the student body. One hand cradled the support for the mic, while the other leaned on his cane. Despite the excitement in the air, he looked unaffected by it all, just like that night they had talked.

"You have travelled here today in search of knowledge. To hone your craft and acquire new skills, and when you have finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people." Ruby glanced at the other students, trying to gauge their reactions, but snapped back as she heard Ozpin take a small breath.

"But I look amongst you…" Ozpin paused, and Ruby swore it sounded almost like he was sighing. "And all I see is wasted energy. In need of purpose. Direction."

Ruby didn't even need to look to see her sister's half-glare, or the nervous shuffling of the other students in response. On some level, she was surprised; no teacher she had ever known had been so...cynical sounding, but after her encounter, she had gotten the impression he did not mince words. She supposed it was more surprising for those who had never met him.

"You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far." Ozpin paused once more, and his eyes scanned across the crowd. For a moment, Ruby almost felt as if they settled on her, but it was only a minor hesitation as he continued his sweep. "It is up to you to take the first step."

With that, Ozpin stepped away from the mic, barely pausing, allowing Glynda to take his place. Before she had even begun speaking, he was already walking away. "You will gather in the ballroom tonight; tomorrow your initiation begins. Be ready; you are dismissed."

"Man of few words," Yang muttered, her voice hollow despite the attempt at humour.

"What did you think of it?" Ruby asked, curious. Her sister frowned, adjusting her hair as she thought. She was uneasy, Ruby noted.

"Kinda...off. Like he wasn't really here."

"He's always like that," Ruby said with a shrug. Yang glanced at her, but said nothing.

"Makes you kind of wonder why he's a teacher though?"

Ruby jumped a little at Jaune's voice, and turned to see the boy standing next to her. She laughed a little as he jumped in response, before nervously rubbing his neck. "Sorry, didn't mean to startle you. Or cut in. Or...yeah, sorry."

"No worries," Ruby said with a nervous chuckle. "I think he's just focused on making sure everyone pushes themselves to be the best they can."

"Odd way of encouraging it," Yang noted before looking up at Jaune. "And who might you be?"

"Jaune, Jaune Arc. A friend of Ruby's," he offered with a smile, extending a hand. Yang quickly glanced at Ruby, who just nodded quietly.

"Well, any friend of Ruby's is a friend of mine!" she announced proudly, and Ruby had a moment of warning to wince before Yang grabbed Jaune's hand. Tight. It wasn't intentional, Yang was just used to giving...friendly handshakes to people who were less than friendly.

To his credit, Jaune only sucked in a deep breath in response, biting off a grunt before Yang realized her mistake, letting up. "Nice grip…"

"Well, I suppose I should get our stuff. You find some nice spots for us, and I'll be right back!" Yang saluted with a wink as she turned, running with her friends towards where Ruby could only guess their luggage had been taken.

"Is she...always like that?" Jaune asked, nursing his hand.

"Unfortunately, yes," Ruby sighed. A strange feeling tickled the back of her mind, and Ruby glanced back at the stage, slightly disappointed to see neither Glynda nor Ozpin was there. She would have liked to have talked to him.

After Ozpin's speech, she had to wonder, had he seen something in her? If this was the speech he gave all these talented people, then why had he picked her? Despite the sombre tone, she couldn't help but smile. Maybe, just maybe, she had a chance.

* * *

Ruby absently ran her fingers through her hair as she scribbled a letter to send back to her friends on her Scroll. She always preferred handwriting her letters, even if she used the Scroll to make sure they got to their destination. Glancing up and looking around at all the other students, her situation had finally sunk in. Everywhere she looked, older students were going about their night routines, some of them sitting in clusters with their friends.

In the meanwhile, she had attached herself loosely to Yang's cluster. Her sister was currently chatting with a few of her friends a short distance from their sleeping bags. She had seen Jaune on the other side, where the boys were sleeping, but he seemed pretty well on his own (if a bit dorky in his full body pajamas, complete with bunny foot coverings).

Weiss was also around, though the older girl had lain down in fairly rapid order, obviously resting for tomorrow. Ruby knew she should be doing the same thing, but she did have to finish her letter first. The gang back at Signal would want to know what was going on.

She paused briefly, nibbling on the end of her stylus as she thought about how best to summarize the experience so far. It had been eye-opening, that was for sure. Different than Signal, but given how small the school was compared to Beacon, she was not surprised. Looking around, there were easily more people in the Freshman class alone than the entirety of Signal, and there were three more years.

"So, tell me all about your day!" Yang demanded playfully as she collapsed onto her bed, propping up on one elbow to look at her sister. "Jaune seemed like a nice guy. Plus one friend!"

"Maybe more than that," Ruby added after a moment. "I also met a couple of other girls while I was on my own. Weiss Schnee and Pyrrha Nikos."

"Wait, like...the Dust Company and the Champion?" Yang asked in obvious surprise.

"Yeah, they seemed like nice people. Well, Weiss was a little intimidating and serious, but she seemed...amicable," Ruby said with a shrug. She was caught by surprise as Yang nudged her with a pillow.

"Come on, that can't be all. How did you manage that?"

"Manage what? I just talked to them," Ruby answered with confusion. She huffed as her sister laughed, and pointedly looked away, only to forget her irritation when she spotted a familiar face.

It was the black haired girl from earlier. She was sitting alone by the wall, wearing some kind of fancy looking robe for her pajamas. A candelabra sat on a table next to her, and she was reading some book Ruby couldn't recognize.

"I'll be back in a second, sis," Ruby excused as she stood up. She realized she hadn't thanked the girl for attempting to step in, even if it had ultimately been unnecessary.

Carefully working her way around the other students, she paused a few feet away from the girl, wondering how best to get her attention when the girl looked over the top of her book. Ruby smiled nervously, trying to get anything from the girl's expression, but she wasn't giving an inch.

"Hey, sorry to bother you. Just wanted to thank you for trying to step in earlier."

"Don't worry about it," the girl responded flatly.

"The name's Ruby, Ruby Rose." Offering a nervous smile and her hand, Ruby waited, hoping this was what she was supposed to do. The girl regarded her for a second, but made no motion to accept it.

"Blake."

"That's a nice name," Ruby complimented, trying to fill the space. Blake's gaze was getting too intense, so she lowered her gaze towards the book. Now that she was closer, she could read the spine: _The Man with Two Souls_. "Whatcha reading?"

"Huh?" Blake's facade cracked a little, and she seemed genuinely confused as she flicked her eyes down to the book, as if just suddenly realizing it was there. "Oh, this? It's about a man with two souls, each struggling for control."

"I love books. Stories of heroes and monsters. Kind of why I'm here," Ruby admitted with a smile.

"Why? Hoping you'll live happily ever after?" Blake asked with a laugh. Something about it made Ruby feel uncomfortable, but she couldn't quite put her finger on why, so she chose to ignore it.

"Well, I'm hoping we all will," she answered nonchalantly. Looking around, Ruby wondered where her fellow students would end up, and how they would go about succeeding at their goals.

Blake, meanwhile, had lowered her book to the side. "That's very ambitious, but unfortunately, the real world isn't the same as a fairy tale."

"Well, that's why we're here. To make it better." Blake looked to the side, and Ruby bit her tongue as she realized she had probably upset her. "Sorry, I will leave you alone. Have a good night."

Quickly, but carefully, Ruby turned and weaved her way back through the students. Yang gave her a look as she laid back down, but they didn't talk as Ruby picked her letter back up, staring blankly at it.

There was too much going through her head to write right now, she decided. Setting it aside, she rolled onto her back, sliding down her face mask. In the relative silence and darkness, she could feel her heart racing at the thought of tomorrow.

Tomorrow, she would prove to herself and everyone that she belonged here.

* * *

Ruby watched with mild curiosity as a heavily armoured ginger girl talked a mile a minute at a silent boy as he retrieved his weapons from his locker. She only got a brief glance at them before they disappeared down his sleeves.

The two were completely different in appearance. The girl was shorter, but her heavier armour made her look quite intimidating, though the pink scheme undermined it somewhat. The boy was taller and thinner, to the point of almost looking brittle, but gave off a silent, focused vibe.

"Yes Ren?"

"I don't think sloths make much noise," he stated flatly. Ruby shook her head, focusing back on her locker. Whatever conversation they were having, she was completely lost. Besides she had more important things to focus on.

Pulling Crescent Rose from her locker, she looked around the room. Not many people were in there yet. Some were still dozing, but she couldn't blame them. They were early.

But it seemed she was right in her choice to wake up early.

Weiss and Pyrrha were also in the locker room, gearing up. The Mistrali champion seemed to be going through some sort of ritualistic preparation as she talked with Weiss, applying her armour ceremoniously. Glancing down at her own outfit, she suddenly felt a lot less prepared.

"So you think we'll get teams today?" Jaune asked, the nervous edge on his voice still there from when he had trouble finding his locker. Ruby wasn't surprised; he had been quite drowsy when she had woken him up. Had she left him to his own devices, she was sure he would have been in the last wave of students, and given less time to wake up.

"I hope so," Ruby said, trying to swallow the anxiety she was having. This was as close to perfect as she could get. She was up early, she could see her potential teammates, and they had already planned it.

"You sound pretty confident," Yang noted with a smile. "Just remember, if things don't work out, I'll support you."

Ruby smiled, but couldn't help but feel patronized. She understood where her sister was coming from, but she could handle herself better than that. "Thanks Yang. I'll keep that in mind."

The sound of heels clicking by the doorway made them all turn, and Ruby stood straighter as she saw Glynda looking over them. "Alright, sixteen students. Perfect. Once you are prepared, come with me."

Ruby was dead silent as she ran over her last minute checks. Crescent Rose was in perfect condition, and she had spare cartridges for when the first clip ran out. Her small backpack had some food in case whatever the initiation was ran long, and she had a couple of tools her father had insisted on packing.

As she stepped up in front of Glynda, ready to go, she was surprised as Pyrrha and Weiss stepped up to her side, looking ready to go. Ruby glanced over at Weiss, who only nodded in response.

To her further surprise, Jaune was the next to arrive, standing to her other side. He nervously smiled at her, checking over his weapon and armour, to which she could only chuckle slightly. Compared to him, she felt positively ready for anything. Not that she doubted him; he just seemed so nervous.

The rest of the students fell into place behind them, forming rows of four, and she had to resist the urge to yelp as the heavily armoured girl practically skipped into place behind her. Finally, they had arrayed and Glynda nodded, turning on heel to guide them.

There was a tense, nervous energy as they followed the strict instructor, heading out the back. Ruby realized that they had left the Great Hall without going through the sleeping quarters. Were they trying not to wake them? Where were the others?

"Man, this is...kind of nerve wracking," Jaune muttered with a chuckle. Ruby sighed, glad for the break in the atmosphere.

"I must admit, I am excited." To Ruby's surprise, it was Pyrrha who spoke.

"You aren't the least bit worried?"

"No. Why would I be?" Pyrrha asked, looking at Jaune in surprise. Weiss just scoffed lightly, shaking her head.

"Well, there are Grimm in there," Jaune pointed out.

"I am familiar with them."

"Really? You've fought them?" Jaune asked incredulously.

"You...you do know who you're talking to, right?" Weiss asked. Jaune just shook his head cluelessly, and Ruby had to chuckle a little at that.

"What? What does everyone know that I don't know?" Jaune asked, looking at Ruby.

"Pyrrha's a four time champion in the Mistral Regional," Ruby explained. Jaune nodded slightly, but the facts didn't seem to click entirely. "She's a good fighter."

"Ah, that would explain it," he agreed, nodding sagely. "Well, even so, I hope you have good luck out there!"

Pyrrha smiled and gave a small bow as they walked. "That is very appreciated. Same to you…"

"Jaune," he answered simply, smiling to himself as they walked.

"We have arrived," Glynda interrupted, stepping to the side. The path appeared to level out ahead of them, and they stepped up to the top, only to be greeted by the sight of the Emerald Forest stretching out in front of them.

Ruby scanned it with awe, seeing how vast it was. As she looked to the left, she paused upon seeing Ozpin, waiting for them quietly. He met her gaze and nodded slightly, though she couldn't tell why before Glynda had stepped behind them and began commanding.

"Alright, everyone line up on the panels beside the cliff-side. In order!" she demanded. Ruby tried her best not to walk too fast, remembering how Glynda had cracked her wand in her interrogation.

Cautiously, Ruby settled on the panel, trying to get her footing. She had heard about the launch-pads from her father. They were used to get even the most heavily armoured students deep into the forest. She had practiced for this for months with her father, using the forests around their home in order to figure out how to land. Granted, she had never been this...high up before. And the pad was only going to get her even higher.

Glynda walked down the line, inspecting them as she passed. Ruby tried not to stop breathing under her gaze, only relaxing when she got to the other end, and nodded in satisfaction, allowing Ozpin to step forward.

"For years, you have trained to become warriors, and today your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest," Ozpin began. "Teams will be formed _today_, and you will be with these teammates for the rest of your time at Beacon, so it is in your best interests to be paired with someone with whom you can work well. That being said, the exact details of team-making will be obscured for now, so as to level the playing field. Regardless, you will be observed and graded remotely, but we will not be stepping in to help you."

Ozpin paused to take a sip from his coffee, letting the air fill with a nervous energy. "Once in the forest, you will be required to spend the entire day and night in there before you are allowed out. Inside the forest are several locations guarded by Grimm, each containing an object. Collecting these objects will improve your score, but will be dangerous to collect. The only requirement for passing is to make it out of the forest alive tomorrow morning."

"The pads you now stand upon will project you into the forest," Glynda explained, taking up the silence. "It will be up to each of you to enact a landing strategy to arrive in the forest _intact_."

To her left, she heard the sound of armour clinking, and turned to see Pyrrha assuming a ready stance. The warrior glanced over at her and Weiss. "On my position."

Ruby stared blankly for a moment. Weiss, however, seemed less confused. "Signal?"

"Single shot in the air," Pyrrha responded quietly, locking eyes with both of them in turn. Suddenly, it clicked in Ruby's head. They were coordinating a response. Looking down the line, she realized that the other students likely didn't know each other, or at least, not as many of them.

They had the advantage here.

"Some of you may be wondering where the other students are. Well, allow me to explain," Glynda continued. "There are seven waves of students. As Ozpin stated yesterday, it is up to you to take the first step. Those of you who got up early and prepared for a test are being rewarded. You will have more time in the forest to hunt for the items before the other waves are deployed. The early bird gets the worm, after all."

Glynda lifted her Scroll for a moment, reading something Ruby couldn't see. "With that said, let's get started. Take-offs will be three seconds apart to allow for room to maneuver. First take off in three…"

"See you inside," Pyrrha assured with a smile, tightening her leg muscles. Ruby tried to copy the pose a moment before Pyrrha was rocketed into the sky, turning into a small maroon and gold blur.

A moment later, Weiss was gone, soaring rapidly after Pyrrha. It was only after Weiss left that it suddenly hit Ruby what was about to happen. Despite her fear, she did her best to tense her legs, holding tightly on to Crescent Rose. This was it, this was-

Suddenly the ground was far behind her, and the wind was shredding by her. In a flash, her brain had gone into overdrive, looking around rapidly. Two things became apparent. One, Weiss and Pyrrha were aiming for deep in the forest, and two, she was moving way too fast for a landing.

The bigger issue was the two problems had diametrically different solutions. In order to catch up with the two, she would have to go faster, but in order to land safely, she would have to slow down.

A rotation in her movement momentarily gave her a brief look behind her, and she could see Jaune soaring through the air...though flailing would have been a better word for it. Yang was already soaring along the treeline, using her gauntlets to get a safe distance, but not going to the marathon distances they were. She caught a brief glimpse of the other students waiting as she began to rotate back towards her trajectory. And Ozpin.

He had seen something in her, and she intended to prove him right.

She would have to go for distance.

She had twelve shots before she had to reload, and she could afford to use some of those on her flight. Two would probably be enough to get her the distance she needed to go. From there, she could figure it out.

Quickly, she rotated so that she was minimizing resistance while still being able to aim straight backwards. No one was directly behind her, so she felt safe in firing off a couple of shots, feeling the impulse kick her back until she was roaring through the air, leaving many of the other students behind.

For a brief moment, she watched them, either gaining distance normally, or deflecting down into the forest as they slowed their descents. They seemed so far away. Ruby shook her head; she had to focus. Turning back around, she could see Weiss and Pyrrha arcing down, and she was following them. She had a couple of seconds before she had to worry about landing, so she looked around, trying to spot anything that could be one of the locations.

Off to the east, she could see a small ridgeline that barely poked over the trees, and atop it, a small stone structure. It was almost swallowed by the trees, but it was more than they had to go on.

Her time was up though, and now it was time to land. Spinning her gun around, she fired another couple of rounds, feeling herself slow down a little, but not enough, not yet. Extending the weapon, she gripped the haft tight, while planting her feet to either side of the base, ready for the jolt of impact.

She was going so fast the treetops barely mattered to her as they snapped out of the way, but she felt when her blade hit the first large branch. The first one was sheared easily, but the next gave a moment of resistance before cracking. Then came a branch with actual width, which made Ruby immediately glad she had practiced. The blade buried itself in the branch, but her momentum kept her going, though not down.

Instead, she could feel her feet begin to rise and her head fall as she began to rotate around the branch, and she just brought herself closer as she heard the scythe sawing through the branch. As she reached the apex of her spin, the core of the branch finally gave, and she found herself suspended for a nauseating second before she began to fall to the ground, albeit far more slowly.

With a toss, she managed to sink the scythe into the earth, before prepping herself for landing. Her feet hit the haft, but the loose grounding allowed it to fall slightly, and she felt herself slide down the haft before finally coming to a stop.

Shakily, Ruby lifted her scythe from the ground, a smile coming to her face. _I did it, I landed it!_

Ruby cut her celebration short as Weiss and Pyrrha stepped into view. The latter smiled and waved, while the former just looked mildly impressed. "Glad you kept up. Now come on, let's get searching."

"Actually, I thought I saw one on the way down here. Follow me!"


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Jaune could safely say that everything was only down from here. The trees, the ground, his life. All of it rushing up to meet him

There had only been a moment for him to ponder his life decisions after Ruby was fired into the air before it struck him he was next. Unlike the others, he had not braced, and immediately began to flip and spiral in an uncontrolled fashion. Occasionally he'd catch a glimpse of Ruby's red streak, somehow climbing ever higher and further away between the swathes of green and nausea.

Then his mind went into panic mode. "What do I do? All I have is this stupid shield! Alright, calm down Jaune, maybe there is...I got nothing."

It was a better plan than falling without trying.

Gripping the handle, he felt the shield expand, and suddenly he flipped, the shield now facing behind him. But more importantly, he felt himself slowing down. If only mildly.

As he flew, he could feel the strain in his arm as the wind battered his shield, but he struggled to keep it flat against the wind. Glancing towards the ground, he could see the trees arriving and realized his shield was facing the wrong way to protect him. Collapsing the shield again, he held it close to his left side as he curled up, expanding it again, hidden behind it. Facing towards the wind, it prevented him from flipping the same way.

When he crashed through the first tree branch, he curled tighter, feeling the leaves shoot past his feet, and moved his hands to hold his head. The next branches were blown apart much easier, and he was just beginning to feel good when the ground hit next.

Suddenly, Jaune was shunted against his shield, and managed to halfway roll when the unwieldy balance cause him to spiral out, rolling across the ground painfully. He found himself lying on his back, surprisingly intact. "Meant...to do that."

Sitting up, he was surprised to feel only a little sore from the impact, and he carefully checked himself for wounds. Smiling to himself, he realized he must have gotten lucky with the landing. Grunting as he stood, he looked around at the forest, the dense trees on every side blocking his view. Not too far away, he could hear the sounds of guns and crashing trees; likely the other students.

"Well, here goes nothing," he muttered to himself.

* * *

Nora kept her eye on Ren the whole time as she flew. The lighter boy was able to soar gracefully through the air, while she had already started to slow by the time he reached his apex. Even so, she knew he wasn't going to rush off on his own. At least, she was fairly certain he wouldn't.

Her descent was fairly easy. A couple of rounds from her grenade launcher cleared the path to the ground, not to mention slowed her descent, and a last minute slam with the hammer killed most of her remaining momentum, while simultaneously allowing her to springboard into a stand.

Looking back, she took a second to admire her handiwork; namely the massive crater she had left in the ground, which Magnhild now marked the epicenter of. Skipping over, she pulled it out of the earth before looking around, making sure nothing had been attracted by the noise.

Seeing the coast was clear, she slung the weapon back into its holster and began jogging towards where Ren had been going. There were bound to be other students around, but she knew Ren, and that was just a safer bet.

Idly, she thought about what the Headmaster had mentioned, namely the bonus points. She knew Ren wouldn't care; if it were up to him, they would probably just camp in one spot, and wait it out. Probably meditate for a large portion of it.

But she wanted those bonus points. Even _one_ bonus would be enough to get her noticed. Not that she _super _cared about what the teachers thought, but if she could get even that, it would be a reason for other people to talk to her, and by extension, Ren.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a growl, and she brought up the haft of Magnhild in time to block the massive claw of an Ursa Minor. She smiled to herself as she twisted the hammer to the side, before jabbing forward with the head, knocking the monster back slightly.

She transitioned into an underhand backswing, bringing the end down on its head, where she felt the bony armour on its face shatter. It tried to swing with the other paw, but she just blocked it with her armoured bracer, easily able to stop the disoriented attack.

Gripping her hammer with both hands, she pulled the hammer from its unnatural flesh, backing up as it tried to lunge, albeit weakly. Tightening her grip, she saw no sense in prolonging the encounter, and swung down again, crushing its skull. Picking up the hammer was easier this time, since the body began to disintegrate around it.

Pushing passed the body, she stepped into a clearing, smiling slightly as she saw Ren sitting on the ground, eyes closed in meditation. He kind of looked like a cute little bird, perched on its branch. Then, the bird stirred and flew away. As she stepped in, he opened his eyes, colour being restored to his body.

"Left that one for me?" she asked with a laugh. "You shouldn't have, you know how I love Grimm presents."

Ren didn't laugh, but smiled slightly. "Nice to see you too Nora."

"Come on, let's see if we can't meet up with some of the others and take out one of those bonus point things," Nora offered, waving for him to follow her. Ren nodded, standing up, and falling into step behind her.

"If you say so."

* * *

Ruby bobbed and weaved her way through the trees as she rushed passed them in a blink. Each 'jump' was a momentary risk as she rushed towards the ruins she had seen earlier. Somewhere far behind her were Weiss and Pyrrha, but she was not too worried about finding them. She was the scout after all.

It had been her suggestion to go ahead of them, and try and scope the location out, trying to figure out whether it was a potential target or not. Weiss and Pyrrha hadn't objected, saying they would continue towards the area in as straight a line as they could manage.

Ahead of her, she could see the trees thin out, and slowed to a halt, stumbling into cover behind one of the trees. Peering out, Ruby sucked in a breath at the sight. The ruins appeared to be crawling with Beowolves, and not young ones. The ruins climbed the hillside, surrounded by a destroyed wall. It almost looked like an abandoned village. The more she looked, the more she realized it probably had been.

The object was likely somewhere in the village, but with the amount of Beowolves, she wasn't so sure about it. There were three of them, and both of the other two were quite skilled, so maybe they had a chance. Quickly, she got a rough estimate on the number before turning around, rushing back to her team.

It only took a minute before she found them, skidding to a stop in front of the surprised duo. "I think I found it, but there's at least a dozen adult Beowolves around it. I think it might be a pack."

"There will be an Alpha as well," Pyrrha noted.

"What did the ruins look like?" Weiss asked.

"Like a village, a really old one. Everything was made of stone, and there was a ruined wall around it."

"Any buildings stick out? Anything tall?"

"Uh, let me think," Ruby said, closing her eyes. She hadn't paid as much attention to that. There had been a few of what looked like buildings, but most of them had been ruined. But there had been a couple standing. "I think there were a couple still standing."

Weiss nodded before pulling out her Scroll. "I want you to draw me as accurate a map as you can."

Ruby nodded, dutifully scrawling out a rough map of the village. She had to pause a couple of times to adjust the scale, but tried to be fast about it. Handing it back to Weiss, the white haired girl regarded it. "Alright, here is what I am thinking."

She angled it so they both could see, and she began making marks and notes on it. "Pyrrha, you don't have as much in the way of area attacks, so we need to get you where you can have control over their approach. The nearest intact building is here, but that is too far to jump in one go. So, what I'll do is put a glyph here and here, and you can use them to mount one of the buildings."

Pyrrha nodded, pointing to the one near the tree line, tracing a line to the one on the wall. "So I should run at it?"

"That would probably be for the best," Weiss agreed, tilting her head slightly to focus on Ruby. "Your weapon takes more space to use than hers, but has more area defense. If we get you in the town square, you'll have all the room you need, while I stand on the house opposite to Pyrrha, and use my glyphs to limit their angles."

"If need be, I can throw Milo. Magnetism," Pyrrha explained, briefly hovering her weapon above her hand in demonstration. Weiss nodded, closing the Scroll.

"Alright, we have our plan. Ruby, lead the way," Weiss instructed. Ruby nodded, turning to jog. She could hear the others keeping pace with her, though this time it took a bit longer to reach the site than on her own. She slowly transitioned to a creep, sliding into place behind a tree. Turning to look at Weiss, she nodded, pointing towards the village.

Weiss nodded back, taking a half step back, watching Pyrrha back even further. "The second I summon the glyphs, they'll know we're here. I'll have to summon the second one a moment before you land. Ruby, you'll follow her a moment later. Everyone clear? Alright, three, two, one…"

* * *

Jaune regarded the other students quietly. He had been surprised to see so many of them in one place.

He had stumbled across them far easier and sooner than he had thought, and a lot...more of them. It was practically a small camp. In fact, that was exactly what it was.

As he stepped in, he could see them look up at him in almost bored disinterest. He couldn't see Ruby, Pyrrha, or Weiss among them, but considering how far they had flown, he was not surprised.

He _was _surprised when Yang suddenly appeared in front of him. "Did you see where my sister went?"

"Woah woah! She was going deeper into the forest while I was falling," Jaune answered quickly, stumbling backwards. "From what I saw, she was hot on the heels of Pyrrha and Weiss."

Yang muttered something that he couldn't hear, but offered her hand to help him up. "Sorry about that. I was sure she would have just landed the first chance she got to meet up with me."

"I wouldn't worry. If she's safe with anyone, it's those two," Jaune offered, unsure of what to say. Still, it seemed to help, as Yang relaxed slightly going to sit back down. "So what's going on here?"

"Not all of us want to go on a wild goose chase," a gruff voice answered. Jaune turned to face the speaker, and his eyes widened. The "boy", if Jaune could even call him that, was several times bigger than him, in dark grey armour, with a heavy flanged mace at his side. It took everything Jaune had not to flinch under his gaze. "So we decided to camp it here. We figure a bunch of the later students will be in the same boat, so we all just hang out here until morning, and leave. You only have to survive after all."

Jaune held back his response, especially seeing as the other boy did not seem to be in a good mood. He had to admit, looking around the amount of weaponry made him feel safe. If any Grimm did show up, they would be severely outnumbered. It was almost tempting.

But he _needed_ those extra points more than anyone else here. He wasn't happy about the idea of having to go back out there and face Grimm to get them, but he wasn't about to give up now. "Well, I think I'm going to go have a shot at finding one. Anyone up for it?"

Jaune put on his best smile, trying to exude confidence, but knew it was likely falling flat. However, to his surprise, the heavily armoured girl from earlier sprang to her feet, looking excited of all things.

"Sure, Ren and I'll come with you! We've been trying to get these sourpusses moving for a little while now. Come on Ren!" Jaune could barely contain his surprise as she marched up beside him, the lanky boy coming with her. "Name's Nora. Lead the way!"

"Guess I might as well come if there's going to be some others," another voice interrupted. Jaune was surprised to see a dark skinned girl approaching him. Her green hair and outfit had made her blend into the forest, but now that she was standing next to him, he was able to see her more clearly. Namely the dual pistols she wore in the small of her back.

"Glad to have you," he said, recovering from his surprise, offering his hand. She smiled and took it, giving a rather light shake. He regarded his companions for a moment before turning to Yang. "You coming with?"

"I'm probably going to try and find Ruby," she declined with a shake of her head before thinking of something. "Give me your Scroll."

Jaune handed it to her, and she quickly typed in something. "If you see her, call me and let me know, okay?"

"Sure thing. She was roughly in that direction," Jaune explained, pointing into the woods. Yang nodded her thanks.

"Come on captain, lead the way!" Nora encouraged, elbowing him.

"Uh, I guess we should probably head this way," he guessed, aiming to a different part of the forest. "Ruby and her team are likely going to hit any objects in their area, so we should look somewhere else."

"You heard the man, march!" Nora yelled, taking point with enthusiasm. Jaune could only watch in surprise for a moment before realizing they should stick together. Well, at the very least, he wasn't going after the objects alone.

"So uh, I'm Jaune," he offered, looking between his companions nervously. "Figured we should exchange names if we're heading out together."

"As you heard, I am Ren, and that's Nora," Ren offered.

"And you?" Jaune asked, turning to their other companion.

"Oh, my name's Emerald."

"Nice to have you on the team," Jaune replied, summoning his best smile. Emerald half-smiled back, though he couldn't tell what was on her mind. Maybe she was just nervous.

Though he wouldn't admit it to anyone, he was beyond nervous. But he wasn't going to let that stop him.

* * *

Ruby could feel a state of focus fall over her as she hit the first glyph. Ahead of her, Pyrrha had already hit the second one, causing several Beowolves to look up in confusion as they saw a gold blur go by.

For a moment, she whipped inches above their heads towards a normal section of wall, but a glyph appeared moments before she landed, immediately springing her the remaining distance to the town square. By the time she landed, she had already extended her scythe, readying her stance.

The first of the Beowolves howled, signalling their intent to attack.

She quickly took stock of her situation. She had her back to an old, ruined fountain, which somewhat protected her, while the buildings around her made it so that it would drive the Beowolves into small areas, easily small enough to chop through with her scythe. The building to her right had Pyrrha on top of it, which meant she was less likely to get flanked there, and the building to her left had Weiss, which meant she only had to focus forward and back. No big deal, just a horde to deal with.

She would have to aggressively hold the line, and she set up to do just that. There would be a moment before the Beowolves hit strike range. "Pyrrha! Speed me up!"

"Right!" Pyrrha's off-hand glowed with a black energy and Ruby felt her scythe begin to spin around her without her assistance. In a moment, she had achieved max speed, and was just keeping it going with careful motions. The instant she was maintaining it under her own power, she heard Pyrrha get to work, the sound of a shield smashing through the hordes signalling the first counter strike.

To her left, she heard the sound of Beowolves getting thrown back and blasted by Weiss' glyphs, sending them tumbling into the other enemies, but she barely paid attention as she gripped the weapon tight in preparation for first impact. The lead Beowolf mistimed its jump, and earned a scythe to the skull for its trouble. Ruby dug her heels in, and heaved the scythe around in order to keep speed, smashing the dissolving corpse into the next one. In a flash, she cut the head off the next one, and surprised another with a half-step forward into a fade back. But that was only four of dozens.

To her right, she heard the sound of Pyrrha's spear rapidly piercing Beowolves at ranges and speeds that varied beyond tracking, occasionally punctuated by the ringing of her shield smashing into a particularly resilient target.

Ruby's eyes widened as she saw the true threat. A Beowolf Alpha. It stood beyond the wall, glaring at them in contempt under its heavily armoured skull. The larger, meaner Grimm was snarling at the others in a dark mimicry of orders and commands. Its howl seemed to bolster the smaller ones, who began to come in swarms, leaping off each other in order to get at her.

Finally, the assault was too much, and she had to jump over a swing at her legs. She took advantage of the moment to fire a shot, the gravity Dust ripping a small line through the Grimm. Some died instantly, while others gripped at damaged limbs, or stepped to the side, stunned. The shot sent her back with great force, but she clipped the tip of the fountain with her scythe, forcing herself back down. She couldn't afford to give too much ground. To her surprise, she could see a bit of water beginning to leak out the top of the fountain, now that the top was ripped clear of moss.

"Weiss! Can you use ice?" Ruby demanded, yelling over the din of howls. The Beowolves were beginning to flank from behind, and she was having to use both parts of her swing to fight, which meant a lot more throwing Grimm into or against other Grimm, rather than clean cuts.

"Yes, but I only have so much!"

"On my signal, hit the fountain!" Ruby yelled, smashing the Beowolves in front of her with as much force as she could muster. She jumped up, kicking off the Beowolf that tried to get behind her, before swinging the scythe down, back side first. The heavy back smashed down the body of the fountain, breaking all the way down to the base. The shrapnel flew in all directions, bouncing off her Aura, but ripping through the nearest Grimm, buying her a moment. She quickly unclipped her cartridge, replacing it with Aero Dust. Aiming down, she planted her feet on the sides of the blade before firing, flying up in a spray of water. "Now!"

Weiss reacted instantly, slinging a white bolt from the tip of her rapier down to the water. The reactive Dust instantly blossomed outwards into a huge wave of ice, encasing the nearest droves of Grimm in its cold grasp.

Ruby, meanwhile, flipped Crescent Rose above her as she fell, going into a spin. Moments before she hit, she slammed the heavy head into the ice, the force causing it to fracture and splinter outwards along the ground. The encased Grimm that hadn't died of impalement were killed as the pieces flew out at different rates, crushing or spearing them, and the ones that had escaped it in the first place were shredded. Particularly towards the Alpha, who was now open to attack.

"Pyrrha! Take out the Alpha! Ruby, you and I will back her up!" Weiss demanded, springing off the building to the ground. Ruby nodded, rushing forward with an assist from Weiss' glyph, swinging her scythe down one line of stunned Grimm. A moment later, Pyrrha rushed passed her, slamming her shield into the Alpha, causing it to rear back. A Beowolf tried to jump at her, but a glyph stopped it, allowing Pyrrha to continue her assault unhindered.

Pyrrha's spear was a blur, rocketing forwards and back with Semblance enhanced strikes, ripping through the Grimm's unprotected belly while Ruby viciously tore through the other Grimm. Occasionally, when she had to overextend in order to hit a dodging Grimm, she would feel a force tug her back, and always see a fading white glyph where she had been standing.

Pyrrha's spear swung in an arc, taking out the Grimm's legs before she rammed the hilt into its neck, sending it flying backwards. "Weiss!"

"Backswing!" Ruby yelled, and Weiss reacted instantly, leaping towards her. Ruby sliced through a Beowolf, and as she swung back, Weiss placed a glyph on the head of the scythe. A moment later, she pushed off, flying up and towards the Alpha, while the kickback drove Ruby's scythe clean through the next Grimm, allowing her to start spinning, and shredding the rest.

Through the gaps in the sea of black, Ruby was able to see Weiss rocket down towards the Alpha, her blade extended in what Ruby could only assume was some kind of trained form. Still, she could not argue with the satisfying sound that her blade made going through the thing's chest, a burst of white light briefly crashing out with the impact.

The death of the Alpha had a rippling effect, and the other Beowolves seemed to suddenly lack confidence, keeping their distance. Ruby hefted her weapon, trying her best to look menacing, which was helped by Pyrrha taking stance beside her. After a moment of staredown, the Beowolves seemed to think better of it, edging away into the forest.

"Alright, now that is dealt with, let's fan out and look for the object," Weiss commanded, pointing to the building. "Pyrrha, can you feel any metal?"

Pyrrha closed her eyes, lifting her hand towards the buildings. Her hand glowed an eerie black for a moment, before she let it fall to the side. "Only some. Mostly wood and stone."

"Just how old is this place?" Ruby wondered aloud.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Ruby gently reached out, touching the edge of the destroyed fountain. As she looked closer, she could see dozens of old claw marks, along with the new ones. A sickening feeling crept up from her stomach; this had once been a village before being overrun by Grimm.

Looking around, she began to be able to see the shadow of the former town. The nearby buildings looked almost like cabins, though she could only guess from the outlines. Taking a deep breath, she stepped into the nearest one, feeling a strange sense of solemn silence come over her as she did so.

The building had obviously been ravaged in the attack, and she could see claw marks everywhere. Kneeling in the doorway, she could see the scuff marks from where the door had been knocked in, and she could even find the marks from where the hinges _had_ been.

Stepping further in, she had to lift her Scroll in order to get enough light to truly inspect it. The dust everywhere told her nothing had been in here for a long time, which only made her feel worse. The Grimm had cleared everyone out, and then just lived _around_ it.

A crunching sound underfoot startled her, and she looked down to see small shards. Kneeling, she inspected it closer, surprised to find shards of what almost looked like fractured Dust. Panning the light, she could see more of them, sprayed out in a burst around the corner, where she could see some dusty objects. Carefully walking over, she set her Scroll down so she could inspect with both hands.

The first thing she picked up was a badly charred stick, with the top dissolving as she picked it up, and the bottom looked like it had been snapped. A second, less charred section confirmed her suspicions. Together, they seemed to form some kind of staff. Looking around, she realized the fractured Dust pieces radiated out from this point.

Turning the objects around in her hands, she realized it must have been a weapon. A sense of dread engulfed her as she knelt down, brushing aside the dust and fragments to reveal a badly charred hole in the ground. The blast point. Whoever had been here had gone out trying to take as many Grimm as possible with them.

Quietly, she put the Scroll back in her pocket, and backed out of the house, holding her breath. Once she was out the door, she allowed herself to breathe, free of the cloying dust. Even so, she couldn't bring herself to look away.

"Ruby, what did you find? What's-?" Weiss began to ask, before noticing her expression. Weiss' gaze followed hers, and her mouth set in a small line before cautiously putting a hand on Ruby's shoulder. "Come on, let's take a look at it."

Ruby didn't put up much of a fight as Weiss half-dragged her over to the fountain, forcing her to sit down. For a moment, Ruby didn't say anything, but slowly, she lifted the pieces, looking over them. "They went out fighting."

Weiss looked over her and the weapon with a half-concealed look of sadness. "That's a primitive Huntsman's weapon. Of course they went out fighting."

Ruby nodded slowly, processing it all. With a sigh, Weiss sat down beside her. "Think about it like this; how many people do you think got away because this one Huntsman gave everything? Beacon exists because of the sacrifice of people like this."

"Yeah...you're right," Ruby agreed, sighing. "I just...wish they could have lived today, to see everyone living in peace."

"I'm sure their final thoughts were of the future they helped make," Weiss said quietly. "Now come on, we still have to search the buildings."

"Alright, right behind you." Gently, Ruby put the pieces into her pack. It didn't feel right to leave them behind.

* * *

Jaune clutched his sword tightly, looking down the hill at the small clearing. There were at least seven Ursa Minor he could see, but a few had wandered in and out of the clearing as they watched.

At the same time, he could clearly see the small pedestal in the centre, with a small helmet placed on it. There was no way that was natural, which meant it had to be one of the objects of their search.

"So, how do we go about getting it?" Jaune asked aloud, turning to his team. They looked surprised at the question. "What have we got?"

"There's too many of them to take head on," Ren noted impassively.

"Ren's over-reacting, I could handle at least two of them easily," Nora boasted, elbowing her partner. Jaune wasn't sure about that, but he knew better than to shoot her down immediately.

"Well, if there were more trees, I could get closer, but my chains don't go that far," Emerald offered with a shrug.

Jaune nodded, rubbing his chin in thought. Ursa weren't particularly fast, so once they grabbed the helm, there was no reason to stick around. The problem was getting to it. The Ursa were clustered around it almost protectively, which made it hard to get a good approach.

The trees around the edges were pretty bare, but sturdy looking, Jaune noted, though he wasn't sure how that could help them. "If we could just get close enough, we could grab it and go."

"Ren's faster than them. He could distract some of them," Nora offered.

"That would probably draw some of their fire away, but we shouldn't get too spread out. Once we grab it, we need to be able to run. Nora, you should go with him. How hard does your hammer hit?"

Nora's grin was borderline psychotic. "I'll break every one of their limbs."

"That might actually be useful, but try to avoid taking too many risks. Ren, you fire on them from behind Nora to get their attention and keep them off-balance. Emerald, you and I will attack from the right side of the clearing. Once we get the opportunity, you go for the snag with your chain, go it?"

"If you say so," she replied, looking a little unconvinced.

"Hey, if this fails, its my skin. I'll be covering you. Everyone ready?" Jaune looked at them, trying to project confidence. "Alright, then let's go!"

Jaune could feel his heart in his throat as he shot out from the trees, holding his shield high. Behind him, he could hear Emerald's twin pistols firing at the Grimm, causing them to look up in surprise and annoyance. To his left, a couple of pink explosions toppled a pair of bears, while simultaneously gaining them ground. A green flash was the only sign of Ren rushing forward, his blades striking weak joints and eyes before flashing behind Nora's protective form.

The first of the Ursa tried to lunge, and he put up his shield, taking the brunt of the hit with it. Despite the force of the strike, the Ursa barely moved him, instead bouncing off. Its exposed belly was then shredded by Emerald, who dashed under his raised arm, digging the hook-like blades of her guns into it before spinning behind him. Jaune glanced at his shield for a moment, smiling slightly. "Alright. I could get used to this!"

Bashing the next Ursa's arm away, he caught a glimpse of the helm. They had already gained a lot of ground, but momentum was slowing, and he could see more Ursa coming from the other end of the clearing. "Emerald, up!"

Crouching, he held his shield above his head, and Emerald seemed to get his message, running at him. Her foot met his shield, and he pushed upwards, launching her above the line of Ursa. With a clear shot, she swung out her chain, sending the helm flying off to the left. Ren bounced off an unbalanced Grimm, and caught it before landing behind Nora.

Emerald swung her chain downwards, spearing the ground a ways behind them, but Jaune was too focused on the Ursa who were now taking advantage of his momentary imbalance. The first one had battered his shield, and had a better time of it this go around. Knocked to the side, he barely managed to block another swipe before one of their paws swung at his legs, knocking him down. His Aura thankfully tanked it, but now he could see the Ursa rising above him, paws aimed to crush him. "Not the face!"

They only found the earth where he had been, and he let out a girly scream as a sudden force yanked him back before he could be flattened. The clanking sound of metal told him it was Emerald's chain, and he found her arms under his shoulders, yanking him to a stand. "Come on! Let's go, you idiot!"

Jaune stumbled into a run, and Emerald barely paused, immediately yanking herself into the treeline. To his right, he could see Nora outpacing the Ursa even with her armour, and Ren was already at the treeline, firing distracting shots at the Ursa.

Once in the trees, the Ursa lost a lot of momentum, having to either brush them aside, or weave, while they managed to keep running largely unimpeded. Jaune couldn't help but smile as the adrenaline pulsed through his body. They had actually done it.

Eventually, they began to slow as they realized they had lost their pursuers. For a moment, they just stood and caught their breath, looking between behind them and each other.

Jaune couldn't help it; he started laughing.

"You almost died and you're laughing?!" Emerald yelled, halfway between anger and disbelief.

"I just can't believe it went so flawlessly!" Jaune admitted, wiping his eyes. "It was like a movie."

"You-! You almost got stomped by an Ursa!" Emerald pointed out, though he could see a smile struggling its way onto her face.

"Yeah, but you got me out of there. Nice work Em!" he complimented before turning to Ren and Nora. "You two did amazing out there. You weren't kidding about that hammer. How many legs did you smash?"

"I wasn't counting."

"I believe she disabled four Ursa, smashing a grand total of nine limbs," Ren pointed out breathlessly. Barely able to lift his arm, Ren offered the helm to Jaune, who took it and carefully began to inspect it.

It wasn't much to write home about, but it was definitely old. Probably like a school trophy item or something added to the hunt if he had to guess. The thing actually looked a bit like an Ursa skull, but fashioned from metal. "Well, let's just hold on to this for now. In the meanwhile-"

The sound of gunshots cut him off, and all of them raised their weapons, reflexively forming a defensive ring as they scanned the treeline. After a moment, he realized it was further off, but not too far out. "Sounds like someone else. We should go help."

"Why? We just barely got out of that last fight," Emerald pointed out.

"They might need it," Jaune pointed out as he began to run. Nora followed without pause, and Ren followed her. Emerald sighed, and began following them a moment later.

* * *

"Get down!"

Ruby ducked as Pyrrha hissed a command, and she was about to ask what was happening when the sky went dark, and she felt a horrid, bone-rending cold pass over her. For a second, it became hard to breathe, and she could feel her grip on her gun shaking.

But in the same instant it was over. Ruby looked up to try and spot the source, and she felt her knees go weak at the sight. It was a Nevermore.

The massive, bird-like Grimm passed over them as casually as one might pass an ant, but she knew it was because it hadn't seen them. If it had, it would be on the attack.

"We should go," Weiss instructed, moving to retreat into the deeper forest. Ruby just stared at her in surprise for a moment.

"We're running? Why!" she half-demanded, trying to keep her voice down.

"We're not prepared to kill that thing," Weiss tried to explain, keeping her voice low and quiet. "It's not our fight."

"What about what you just said? This is exactly the kind of thing. Besides, think about it, if we take it down, imagine how impressed Ozpin-"

"Ozpin won't be impressed if we're all dead!" Weiss countered. "Get over here, now!"

Ruby frowned, gripping her rifle tightly. How could Weiss disregard what she had just said? This went against the principles of being a Huntsman. This was-

Her thoughts were disrupted by an ear-splitting caw, and they all turned to see the Nevermore banking, adjusting course towards them.

"It's seen us!" Weiss cried out, jumping into cover. Ruby cast her a glare, readying her stance and aiming her rifle. Her heavy hitting Gravity shots were ready and loaded, and she was going to hit it with everything. "Ruby what are you doing?!"

Ruby didn't answer, instead rapid firing at the Nevermore. It was an easy target, and wasn't even dodging. Each shot hit it and visibly made it shake, but as it neared, she could feel the aura of dread cold close around her, making it harder to move. Finally, panic seized her as she realized that it wasn't affected by her shots, and she took a half step back. That was when it struck.

The Nevermore pulled back suddenly, its wings acting as a massive break before it suddenly whipped them forward, razor sharp feathers flurrying forwards at unbelievable speeds. Ruby's eyes widened as she realized she couldn't get out of the way in time.

A sound like a blade across a mirror shrieked towards her, and it took her a second to realize that it came from her right, rather than ahead of her. Opening her eyes, she saw Weiss standing in front of her, rapier raised upwards, pointing to the pinnacle of a wall of ice. Before she had a chance to react, both of them were yanked to the side, under cover of trees.

Ruby was disoriented as she found someone gripping her tightly and throwing her behind the cover of a tree as the Nevermore buzzed over their position. "WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!"

Everything refused to process for a moment, even as Weiss towered over her, anger clear on her face, while Pyrrha fired distracting shots, dashing between trees as the Nevermore tried futilely to land a strike on her. Ruby just stared at her hands, realizing how close to death she had come. Slowly, she looked up, barely able to form a thought. "You...saved me."

"What else was I going to do? Let you go out in a blaze of glory?" Weiss asked, disbelief oozing from every word. "At the very _least_ you could have talked about a plan or something!"

"And let that _thing_ roam free while we scurry away?"

"No! If we had a plan, we might be able to do something, but now it knows we're here, and now we just have to survive until it gets bored. Which might take a while. Nevermore are tough, you can't just shoot them out of the sky!"

Ruby felt her face flush, both from anger and embarrassment. "I...I never learned much about Nevermores. They probably covered it in the two years they skipped me."

"You…" Weiss began, but just sighed. "Alright, listen. If we had talked, this would have gone better, so we need to talk now. I'm sorry I made it sound like we were going to leave it be. I'm sorry I assumed that you would just have no questions or ideas. But right now we need to work together to stay alive, and that means you and I need to talk, alright?"

Ruby bit the inside of her cheek, trying to swallow her anger. "Alright, fine. I'm sorry I acted without thinking."

To her surprise, Weiss smiled softly, and she could easily see the sadness hidden behind her eyes. "I understand, I really do. But we have to keep a level head. Otherwise we make stupid mistakes."

Ruby's eyes immediately flicked to the scar on Weiss' face, then away as she realized Weiss knew what she was doing. Weiss reared back, hissing slightly before taking a deep breath. She looked away with a sigh, before looking back at Ruby, a soft, saddened expression adorning her face. "So, are you willing to work with me here?"

"Alright, let's kill this thing," Ruby said with a nod.

"Pyrrha, what's the situation?" Weiss demanded, turning to the other Huntress, who was scanning the trees above for glimpses of the bird.

"It does not know exactly where we are, but it can sense us. It just cannot see us," she summarized, looking up nervously.

"Alright, then we have the chance to get the drop on it, but we need to keep calm," Weiss said, emphasizing each word. "Ruby, do you have any Ice Dust?"

"I have a cartridge of them; twelve shots total."

"We need to force it to lose altitude. How easily do you think you can hit its wings?"

Ruby glanced up at the sky nervously. Despite its large size, it was deceptively fast. "I could do it, but it might be a tricky shot."

"Alright. Once you take its wings out, it'll have to crash down in the forest. We have to keep it there so it can't take off again. Any ideas on how to keep it down?" she asked, looking between them.

Ruby unclipped the cartridge from her rifle. "I have some Gravity Dust, three shots left. Can you do something with your glyphs?"

Weiss nodded as she accepted the cartridge, shoving the first bullet into the hilt of her rapier. "This should be able to hold it temporarily. We need to take out its wings. Without those, it can't attack as well."

"We should be on the lookout for Grimm. Something that big falling out of the sky is bound to attract their attention," Pyrrha noted, her voice dire. "I do not think my weapon is going to do much to its wings, but I can keep it distracted."

"Guess that means its up to me, huh?" Ruby asked nervously, holding Crescent Rose closer. It was practically made for this task, but she couldn't help but doubt. After all, the shots had barely done anything to it, so what was a scythe going to do? Still, it was a better plan than nothing. "Alright, I'm ready."

"Good, let's kill this bird," Weiss affirmed, taking a deep breath. Ruby nodded, then turned around, getting a run up before leaping up into the trees. Quickly, she worked her way to the top branches, where she could get sight of the Nevermore without being seen easily herself.

The Grimm was circling, one of its red eyes focused downwards, scanning the ground. It let out another horrific caw, but it was far enough away to only be mildly uncomfortable. Slowly, Ruby forced out all her breath before inhaling, tensing her torso as she leaned into her rifle, peering through the scope.

Beneath her, she could feel the tree sway slightly, and she mentally adjusted her shot to account for the wind. The Nevermore was tilting for a side pass, which meant it would be the biggest possible target. Carefully, she planted the back of her rifle into the tree to soak the recoil. She would need to have the best shots possible for this to work.

The Nevermore reached the apex of its pivot, and Ruby saw her chance. Her shot rang out, flying towards the bird. She only waited long enough to see it hit the upper wing, frosting the muscles over before she pulled the bolt, lining up the second shot.

The Nevermore's body jerked, and it flapped its one good wing in an attempt to gain altitude, forcing her to adjust her sights. Feeling the burning in her chest from needing air, she pulled the trigger, and nearly let out a cry of excitement as she hit the other wing. By this point, the fall had pivoted it enough to start it heading towards them. Collapsing her weapon, she jumped down, barely pausing as she activated her Semblance.

"Grab on!" Ruby shouted, stretching out her hands as she momentarily pulled out of her Semblance. Both of them looked surprised to see her appear out of a trail of petals, but thankfully reacted fast enough as she activated it again, rocketing through the trees. As she raced forward, she could feel the cold aura of the Nevermore, telling her she was headed the right way. Even so, it seemed weaker than it had been, for which she was grateful.

The sound of crashing trees made her veer to the side, and not a moment too soon as the Nevermore swept above them. Quickly, Ruby stopped, and turned Weiss towards the Nevermore. After a brief moment of disorientation, she lifted her rapier, taking her stand. "Oh no you don't!"

With a flourish, the blade turned black, and she speared her rapier into the earth, causing a massive glyph to appear below the Nevermore, and Ruby could hear the crunch of its massive wings as it was forced into the ground. Ruby met Pyrrha's gaze and nodded, slinging her scythe back before firing the Aero round.

Pyrrha charged forward, firing shots from her muskets at the beast's face, causing it to flinch away. She kept the fire up, aiming for its eyes. Ruby, meanwhile, flew under its wing, her scythe cleaving halfway through. Landing on the other side, Ruby dug her heels in, heaving against the momentum to swing Crescent Rose the other way. For a moment, it felt like she was going to spin out, but when she pulled the trigger, she found herself flying back the way she came, and her scythe finished its job this time, shredding all the way to the base of the wings.

Landing, Ruby looked back in excitement as the wing turned to ash, and was just about to position to do the other when suddenly the massive fan of tail feathers came rising into view, blocking out the sky.

The whistling of razor feathers filled her ears, and she threw up her arm in a futile defense, only for something heavy to impact her from behind, forcing her to the ground. The sound of beating on metal made her look up, surprised to see Jaune, shield raised. Once the hail had stopped, he stood up, offering his hand.

Ruby was yanked to her feet, and the pair of them fled from the range of the Nevermore's tail. Jaune looked at the huge beast with obvious fear. "What's the plan?"

"I need to get to the other side and take out its wing," Ruby informed quickly, trying to figure out how to get over the massive body.

"I'm going to need to refuel in a second!" Weiss yelled, her rapier slowly being forced out of the ground. "We'll need to keep it down!"

"Nora, keep it from taking off!" Jaune commanded, to which she saluted.

"Aye aye captain!" she giggled, jumping at the Nevermore. She smashed the sharp back end of the hammerhead into its side. With a kick, she looped onto its back, keeping the spike lodged in its side the whole time.

"Emerald, get Ruby over there!" The green haired girl nodded, leaping towards the Nevermore. Ruby had just enough time to wonder what was going on when a chain wrapped around her waist, and she was yanked off her feet, not even able to scream as the air was forced from her lungs.

Emerald tossed her other chain to Nora, who grabbed it with her off hand, and yanked. Hard. Both girls accelerated over the top of the bird, and Emerald twisted to toss Ruby to the side of the wing before using her chain to land on the opposite side. From her height, Ruby could see Jaune and Pyrrha working in tandem to slash at the Nevermore's leg as it flashed out, one taking the hit to allow the other to land a blow on it.

Stumbling, Ruby shook her head and focused, seeing the wing in front of her. However, at that moment, she could see the glyph fail, and the beast stood up, lifting the wing out of range.

"No you don't!" Nora yelled from atop the beast's back. Dislodging her weapon, she fired her hammer, rocketing upwards before spinning to face her target at the peak. Arching her back, she fired a moment before impact, and Ruby could see the splintering of the bird's bone beak mask even from where she stood. The force slammed the bird's face into the ground, but also sent Nora flying off the front.

"We're good!" she heard Weiss yell, and the glyph returned, crushing the Nevermore back to the earth. Looking across, she could see Emerald, blades extended. Ruby nodded, and fired her Aero round backwards, just as Emerald hit the wing with a chain, rushing forwards.

The two raced towards each other, and their blades hit the wing at the same time, rending it in half. The bird gave a loud screech, drowning out the sounds of gunfire and slashes.

Ruby backed off, watching it for a moment. Despite the loss of its wings, it was somehow still fighting. Emerald looked equally surprised, if not more. "What does it take to kill one of these things?!"

The sound of shattering drew Ruby's attention to the ground, where she saw the glyph under the Nevermore suddenly disappear. Her eyes widened, and she barely thought about it as she ran forward, firing again as she slid under the Nevermore's body. "Weiss!"

Rolling into the light on the other side, she immediately looked for her teammate, only to see her in Ren's arms, standing to the side of where she had been, which was now impaled with feathers. Quickly, she slid out of his grasp, nodding her thanks. Ruby sighed in relief, rushing up to her side. "What are we supposed to do now?"

"I don't know! That should have killed it," Weiss explained, looking distraught. Jaune rushed over, looking exhausted, his shield having a few new scuff marks.

"Does it have any weak spots?"

"Only the soft tissue under the armoured skin. And the eyes, but those are too close to the mouth to be a good target."

"Not for us it's not!" Nora interrupted, waving at them. Ruby wondered what was going through her mind, only to be startled as Ren ran towards her, and she realized that she had been waving to Ren.

"Wait!" Jaune called, but Nora seemed to either not hear, or not care as she leapt forward with an explosive assist, smashing her hammer into the Nevermore's head, knocking it off balance. For a moment, it's head was against the ground again, and that was all it took.

Ren flashed forward, digging the blades of his machine guns into its eyes. Nimbly, he spun, kicking his feet onto its armoured brow crest, ripping a vertical strip up the side. The sound of a chain came from the far side, and he grabbed the end, pulling up. As he fell downwards towards its head, Emerald flashed up, a trail of smoky material behind her signifying a successful strike on the opposite eye.

Landing on the other side, she yanked Ren off its head, while Pyrrha gave a quick magnetic pull on Nora to try and get her back to them, just as the Nevermore reared back, flailing angrily. It began to shake its whole body, and Ruby had just enough time to realize what was happening. "Everyone to cover!"

All of them fled into the trees using whatever means possible, and she looked back in time to see Jaune lagging behind, with Pyrrha behind him. In a flash, she pushed him forward, forsaking her own speed to do so. However, before Ruby could worry, she unslung her shield, hovering it for a split second in mid-air before kicking back off of it. The unaimed jump sent her careening into a tree, but no one had enough time to worry as the death volley shredded the edges of the trees.

The storm of death lasted for what seemed like ages, and when it ended, they all still flinched slightly as the body finally crashed to the ground, spraying dust. Looking out over the battlefield, Ruby could see it was littered with the feathers, turning it into a solid wall of black. Anyone out there would have been dead by now.

"You alright Pyrrha?" Jaune asked, helping her up. The champion just nodded, rolling her arms a little.

"I took a little damage to my Aura, but not enough to be a concern. Thank you for asking though," she assured with a smile, extending her hand towards the field. Her shield rocketed out of the sea of black, slamming into place on her arm.

"That was a Nevermore…?" Ruby turned to see Emerald standing at the edge of the trees, watching the monster dissolve into ash, along with its legion of feathers. She looked...horrified, which surprised Ruby.

"Emerald, right? Are you okay?" she asked. The girl looked at her for a moment before seeming to realize how she looked. Shaking her head, she coughed, composing herself.

"Yeah, fine. Let's uh...let's get moving, okay?"


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

"Everyone still has all their limbs?" Jaune asked, stretching as they gathered around.

"Still have all of them. Well, maybe a few hair strands less," Ruby offered with a smile. "How's everyone doing on ammo?"

Ruby smiled slightly as she heard the clacking of metal, and rattle of ammo cartridges. Everyone checked their supplies, counting bullets, and grenades. At the end of it all, they had been pretty conservative, though Nora was a little low on grenades to power up her attacks, and Ruby herself was out of gravity dust entirely.

"Can your hammer use any form of dust?" Ruby asked, motioning to Nora's weapon.

"Hm? Magnhild? Yeah, it can accept raw dust in order to power its swings, but I can't fire unless I have it in grenade form," she explained, motioning to the stub barrel.

"Here, take these," Ruby offered, handing over her clip of fire dust. "I'm not really going to use them, considering we're in a forest."

Nora nodded her thanks as she began emptying the dust in the ammo into her hammer.

"Alright," Weiss stated loudly, drawing everyone's attention. "I recognize we just fought a Nevermore, but there are still plenty of hours in the day. I say we get walking, and find the next site."

"Any ideas where that might be?" Emerald asked.

"Jaune, did you hear anything when you were back with the others?" Pyrrha asked, her eyes narrowing in thought.

"Not really. Everyone seemed to be pretty content to sit back. Though since then they probably launched the rest of the students in, I guess," he replied with a shrug before seeming to realize something. He pulled out his Scroll, typing away. "I need to tell Yang you're alright."

Ruby was surprised to hear that apparently Jaune and her sister had met, and a little irritated that she was sending others to keep an eye on her, but her thoughts were cut off by Weiss.

"Then we can be sure that there is likely nothing back that way," Weiss concluded. "However, we didn't see anyone go flying over us, so no one has made it this far in yet. That means the only choice is to go further in."

"Isn't that a bit risky?" Nora asked.

"Compared to fighting a Nevermore?" Ruby asked with a smile, prompting Nora to nervously chuckle and nod her head in concession. Weiss nodded slightly in thanks before continuing.

"The forest extends quite far in both directions," Weiss continued, tracing a map on the ground with the tip of her rapier. It was roughly circular, and bisected by a line. A small building lay on one side, and between the two features, a massive 'X' had been drawn. "Seeing as we have at least three team members who can move quickly, I say we cycle pairs scouting ahead while the main bulk continues heading in a straight line."

Weiss emphasized her point by drawing a line from the center towards the unmarked edge, adding lines radiating off. "This way, we can cover maximum ground with minimum risk."

To Ruby, it sounded like she had finished a rehearsed speech, but the others seem fairly impressed with her confidence. She wasn't about to undermine that. "Sounds good to me."

"Alright, Ren and Emerald, I want you two up first," Weiss instructed, turning to each of them as she called on them. Ren merely nodded, but Emerald looked surprised.

"Wait, me? I'm not that fast," she pointed out.

"And what about me? Why aren't I scouting?" Ruby asked, genuinely confused. A horrible sinking feeling hit her. What if Weiss was still mad about the Nevermore? What if-

"You spent a lot of energy fighting the Nevermore. You need to rest for a bit, and recover your Aura," Weiss insisted, firmly but gently, before turning to Emerald. "Besides, I saw you in that fight. You move faster than the rest of us without dust assistance."

"Fair enough," she agreed after a moment. "So, where to?"

"I'll leave that up to you both. Use your best judgements." Ren and Emerald nodded before taking off in opposite directions. "Well, time to get marching."

Ruby fell into step a little bit to the side of Weiss, watching her in the corner of her eyes. That had been...unexpected. Ruby had got the impression she was smart and focused, but that sounded almost...practiced.

"So, where'd you learn to do that?" she asked, curiosity burning inside her. Weiss glanced at her with a cocked eyebrow before smiling.

"Just a little something I picked up back home in Atlas," she confided, smiling to herself before picking up a half step, leaving Ruby with more questions than answers.

"She's something else, isn't she?" Ruby jumped slightly as Jaune stepped up beside her.

"Yeah, you could say that."

"Wish I had her skills," he said wistfully. "She's clearly trained for this."

"It seems you were doing fine on your own," Pyrrha pointed out from the other side. "In battle, you lead effectively."

"I didn't really lead, I kind of just...suggested things."

"When others take your suggestions, they are following your lead," she countered with a smile. "We have our talents, and they fall in many places."

"Wow, that sounds...poetic."

Pyrrha nodded. "It sort of is. It is hard to explain...back in Mistral, we call it _arete_. A sort of natural order of perfection."

"Uh huh." Jaune's tone was utterly unconvincing, but to her credit, Pyrrha only laughed.

"Arete is not a word that is translated easily. It roughly means perfection, but here, perfection is thought of as a singular truth. One thing everyone should aspire to. In Mistral, my perfection was different than another's. Take Ruby for instance."

"Me?" Ruby straightened in surprise, having thought the conversation had moved away from her.

"Yes, you. Look at the fight with the Nevermore. Weiss' job was to hold the Nevermore in place, while you disabled it. Had the roles been reversed, I doubt we would have been successful."

"Yeah but-"

"You are faster than Weiss, and you hit harder. However, she has more control over dust, and is a tactician. Both of you aspire to perform the best as you can. Weiss did not ask you to hold a Nevermore, she did it herself. That is arete."

"Huh, guess that makes sense," Ruby muttered, running the words over in her head.

"So, does this thing apply to everyone?" Jaune asked.

"Pretty much." To everyone's surprise, Nora pitched in, stepping up to be in time with them. "Back when Ren and I travelled a lot, we heard people talk about it all the time. Well, sort of. You see, we were from northern Mistral, which uses a different language than southern Mistral, so we couldn't always understand them. But the word arete was thrown out a lot, and in reference to a lot of things."

Nora giggled slightly, and began gesturing with her hands as she spoke. "One time, we were walking through this town, and this guy was buying a horse. And the two guys started arguing, though I couldn't tell you what about. All I know is they pointed at different parts and bickered back and forth, with the word arete constantly being used. Trust me, when you are trying to learn the language, that is a major drag."

"You must have had quite the experience travelling so much," Pyrrha pointed out. Nora smiled slightly, but it seemed only to be a half smile.

"Sorta. Ren and I kind of wandered the roads, going wherever we could. Couple of highwaymen you might say!" Nora shook her head at the pun. "We saw a lot of different people. Kind of an eye opener you know. Never heard the concept explained before though. Nice to know they weren't talking about hair or something."

The rest of them chuckled, but faded into a contented silence as they walked. Even so, Ruby couldn't help but look around, feeling her attention divided for some reason. The thought irritated her for a while until she realized what was gnawing at her.

It was beginning to sink in where she was, and what she was doing. She was at Beacon, getting to practice her skills, and train with other dedicated Huntsmen. She had just taken down a Nevermore, with a team no less. And she hadn't even realized how easily she had been talking with the others until now.

Part of her was almost flustered by the realization, but somehow, she managed to hold it back, instead just walking in silence beside the others. Secretly, she was a little thankful when Emerald came back, and it was her turn to do the scouting.

* * *

With a quick slash of her scythe, the last cut needed to fell the tree went straight through, and she quickly dashed back as it began to fall. Gripping her scythe, she began to weave a path over it, dragging her scythe behind her as she ran the length of it, before doubling back a few times. By the time she had finished, it had been reduced to manageable chunks.

With a sigh, she sat down, and took a quick breather as the others collected the wood, bringing it over to where they had set up the fire pit, not far away. She watched with half-attention as they took turns collecting some. Jaune tried to take more than he could, Nora piled it high in her arms with Ren's assistance (and needed it again to unload it), and she was surprised as even Weiss assisted.

Watching them sort through it reminded her of the fall back home. Ruby smiled at the thought; this time last year, she had been helping her father cut down some firewood to store for the winter. It was hard work, but when the days got cold, she was grateful they had done it. All her friends agreed on that.

The thought of her friends made Ruby's stomach twist a little. They would be starting their third year at Signal, without her. She wondered how they were doing, and what they were studying. Would they make new friends? Replace her? What would happen when they came to Beacon? Would they remember her?

"You alright Ruby?" A concerned voice snapped Ruby out of her spiralling thoughts, and she looked up to see Weiss, concern plain on her face. "You did a lot of work, scouting and cutting trees."

"I'm fine," Ruby assured her, but she couldn't help rubbing her hands together.

"Alright, but come over to the fire at least. I won't have anyone catching hypothermia on my watch," she insisted, grabbing Ruby's arm. Caught off-guard, and off-balance, Ruby found herself half-stumbling and half-dragged to the fire pit, where Weiss forced her to sit on one half of a larger section of log.

"Now, we just use a quick flourish of this." Weiss drew her rapier, spinning the hilt. An ever so slight glow surrounded her, and the smallest amount of flame appeared atop the blade, which she plunged into the tented logs. Somewhere within, she could hear the hiss and pop of smaller chips catching alight, and smiled as she saw the puff of ash and dust as the first large log caught and the fire grew. Dousing the flame, Weiss gave a bow. "I have made fire!"

Ruby chuckled and gave a light applause, the others joining her quickly. Weiss seemed vaguely surprised, quickly returning to the log Ruby was on before setting herself down carefully.

Across from her, she could see Jaune lean forward, taking a deep breath. A smile crossed his face, and he perked up excitedly. "This is just like camping back on Patch! Too bad we don't have any marshmallows."

"We'd need chocolate as well," Ruby pointed out. "And some crackers."

"For what?" Weiss asked, looking between them with confusion.

"Don't tell me you've never had S'mores," Nora gasped dramatically.

"I never really camped," Weiss explained, leaning forward on her knees. "Closest I got was when Klein taught me how to stoke the fireplace in my room. Said we should know how to take care of ourselves if the heating went out."

"Well Ren here happens to be one of the best at it, isn't that right Ren?" Nora asked, elbowing her companion.

"I have some experience," he admitted with a light smile. "I shall have to offer them some time."

"Maybe after we get set in teams and everything, we can take a weekend and go camping or something!" Jaune suggested enthusiastically. "We can bring tents and all kinds of fun things!"

Jaune paused as he realized he was not only standing, but gesticulating enthusiastically, prompting a small laugh from everyone as he sat down, rubbing his neck nervously.

"That sounds like a wonderful idea Jaune," Pyrrha agreed.

"Gotta admit, it does sound tempting. But don't we have to worry about Grimm or something?" Emerald asked, uncrossing her arms.

"Not if you camp pretty close to the city. The defenses we have ensure the Grimm give a fair berth, so you can get into the countryside and still be pretty safe," Ruby pointed out. Emerald stared at her a moment before nodding. It was a nod Ruby could recognize; one of just beginning to process something new. "You never been camping?"

"What? No I, I mean!" Emerald began defensively, only to sigh. "I never went far outside the city. Never had a reason to."

That seemed fair to Ruby, so she just smiled. "Well, you are more than welcome to come along. The more the merrier."

Ruby tuned out the string of denials from Emerald as the conversation turned to jest, instead pulling out Crescent Rose. It had gotten a fair bit of work done today, and she wanted to make sure her sweetheart was still running fine. Carefully expanding it, she laid the head across her lap, the blade facing away from Weiss.

Lightly, she hovered a finger over the blade, feeling her Aura pulse against the metal. It was the only thing separating her finger from the sharp edge of the blade, but in a way, she could almost feel it. Slowly, she ran her finger a couple of inches down, feeling the almost electric tingle of her Aura responding to the threat. Pulling her finger away, she stared at it for a moment before deciding that it was a little dulled compared to normal.

Pulling out her whetstone, Ruby set to work, softly shaping her blade. She wasn't the type to roughly beat out any imperfections, or continue sharpening forever. She knew exactly how much her sweetheart needed, and would do just that. Her right hand carefully gripped the spine of the blade, while her left performed long, smooth strokes down the curved blade.

Her softer touch and gentle handling prevented the whetstone from scraping too much, like she had heard some others do when sharpening their weapons. She didn't blame them. After all, if she were in a hurry, she would be forced to do the same. But for now, she had all the time in the world.

Eventually, she managed to shape the blade until it was sharp once more. Pressing her finger close, this time she came within a hair's width of the blade before her Aura repulsed it, and she smiled to herself. Looking around, she spotted her pack with the others. "Hey Weiss, would you mind grabbing the kit from my bag? It should look like a red box."

Weiss nodded, picking through the packs until she found Ruby's, and withdrew the kit with a slightly confused expression. She walked back over and handed it to Ruby, sitting down with obvious interest. "Maintenance?"

"Yep," Ruby answered off-handedly, picking through the kit for her screwdriver. Some people liked drills, but those were hard to get the pressure right on. "What about you? How do you clean your weapon?"

"Myrtenaster doesn't require much cleaning. Once the dust runs out, I clean the chambers, but that is the largest bulk of it."

Ruby briefly looked up from her disassembly. "What about sharpening? Don't you have to use a whetstone?"

"Drawfile," Weiss answered with a smug grin, standing up. Ruby watched as she went to her own pack, pulling out a small case. Sitting back down, Weiss laid Myrtenaster across her lap before digging out a small file. "You just draw it perpendicular to the edge. More intensive, but it sharpens it the right way."

Ruby nodded in approval before continuing her job. Carefully, she undid the bolts that held the barrel in place, removing it from the bulk of the weapon. She was dimly aware of Weiss watching in interest, so she turned the object in her hands so she could see it.

"The thing about a gun like this is that you need to make sure to clean it. Dust rounds leave a lot of material behind, and if you leave it in there, it can react with another round, and cause a backblast, or a blowout," Ruby explained.

"It also depends on the weapon," Ren added, surprising both of them. With a flourish, he extended his weapons from his cuffs. "My weapons are rapid fire, and thus contain lower amounts of dust in their rounds in order to prevent too much build up. They don't hit as hard, but there are more of them."

"I barely ever have to worry about that. Magnhild's grenades are self-contained, and it uses compressed air in order to launch them. Only time I have to worry is if I burn the dust for a swing. Then I have to clean the burn ports," Nora explained, flipping the head of her hammer around so they could see the vents on the back.

"Makes me glad I only have a sword," Jaune joked. "All I have to do is clean it."

Ruby nodded, finally working the barrel free from the rest of the weapon, carefully setting aside the body as she braced the barrel between her knees. From her kit, she pulled out a short rod. With a flick, it telescoped out to its full length, and she carefully affixed a small swab to the end before gently inserting the end into the top of the barrel. The whole thing was easily taller than her, but she carefully held in with her palm, gently twisting it further and further down.

Tuning everything else out, Ruby focused on what she could feel through the rod. She had to keep it centered to avoid scratching the edges, but she could feel the friction of the swab as it went down. Near the base, she had to twist more vigorously, gently guiding it downwards as she felt the residual dust being pushed downwards. As time went on, she was able to switch to a gentler grip, only barely twisting between her fingertips.

Finally, she felt the pressure give and she quickly gripped to prevent the whole rod from sliding out entirely. At the bottom, she could see the swab, dirtied with dust. Carefully, she turned it on its side, deliberating for a moment before turning to Weiss. "Would you mind holding the handle while I remove the swab? Just...be careful."

"Alright," Weiss agreed, sliding her fingers around the handle. Ruby took a moment to appreciate the steadiness with which she held it, before realizing it was very similar to the way she held her rapier. Ruby smiled to herself. It was a shame Weiss didn't have a gun; she'd have been excellent at clearing them.

Cradling the barrel in one arm, she knelt down, and removed the swab, inspecting it. From what she could tell, it was all dust, and no chipping. That was good news. Grabbing a small box from her kit, she placed the swab inside, with a mental note to take care of it later. Sitting back on the log, she thanked Weiss before taking the handle back, drawing it back out, careful to clear the top before turning it.

Then she grabbed another swab, and got ready to do it again. "How many times do you have to clear it?"

Ruby turned to look at Weiss questioningly, but the girl just motioned to the gun. "Oh, technically only once, but I like to be sure."

"Much easier with pistols," Emerald chimed in, flashing her weapons. The barrels, once the extension were folded back, were quite short, and her clearing rod reflected that.

"Now I'm sure that a gun wouldn't be for me," Jaune commented before standing up with a stretch. "Alright, guess I'll take first watch."

"You don't have to do that-"

"Nah, it's alright. Ren, Ruby, and Emerald spent all day scouting. They all deserve to rest. Weiss held down a Nevermore, and you defended me from its last attack. Least I can do is let everyone get some sleep," Jaune assured Pyrrha, stepping away from the fire before she had a chance to respond. The champion seemed torn for a moment, but seemed to think better of it, resigning herself with a sigh.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Jaune sat quietly on a log, listening to the fire crackle. Glancing to the side, he chuckled slightly at the admittedly massive pile of wood they had collected. It would do more than last them the night. Still, everyone had pulled their weight, that much was apparent.

Quietly, he unsheathed his sword, looking at it in the moonlight. Everyone had worked fast, but it had still gotten dark early, which was not helped by the fairly dense forest canopy. In the blade, he could see the fractured moon, and leaned back, looking up at the clear sky.

Despite the presence of Beacon and Vale nearby, it seemed that the light wasn't interfering with the stars in any real way, and he could get a clear view of it all, or at least, the section visible through the trees.

In a way, it reminded him of home. On Patch, the lack of huge cities made the sky crystal clear, especially in the summer.

"Enjoying the view?"

Jaune turned in surprise, causing Pyrrha to jump as well. "Sorry! Didn't mean to startle you."

"Startle? Nah, I was just...caught off-guard," Jaune replied, trying his best to smile confidently, but from Pyrrha's chuckle, he could tell it had failed. Sighing, he leaned on his knee, turning to look at her. "What are you doing up?"

"I thought you could use some company. Besides, I am already recovered, in case you were worried," she teased, taking a step closer. "Mind if I join you?"

"Help yourself," he shrugged, gesturing to the seat. In the firelight, Pyrrha's armour somehow turned an even more powerful copper, the hardened edges glinting with a pulsing ebb and flow. Self-consciously, he glanced at his arm, the simple white metal on his shoulder making him feel incompetent by comparison.

"What were you thinking about? You looked...contemplative. Is that the word?" Pyrrha mused.

"Probably," Jaune replied with a small smile. "I was just looking at the stars. Helps me relax."

"Is something bothering you?" Pyrrha inquired, leaning slightly to get a better look at Jaune's face.

"Not really. I just...was thinking about my weapons and armour."

"What about them?"

"Not quite sure how useful they really are," he admitted, lifting the blade for emphasis. "No ranged function, can't use dust. It doesn't even shift forms."

"Are you not happy with how you designed it?"

"I didn't design it. It was my great-great-grandfather's. Kind of just...inherited it."

"Why did you not make your own weapon?"

Jaune tried to hide his frown. That was not a discussion he wanted to have. Instead, he shrugged. "It would be wrong to just give it up."

"Mind if I take a look?" she asked, offering her hands gently.

Jaune shrugged, placing it in her hands. Pyrrha bowed slightly before holding it a little higher, testing the weighting. Her hands slowly became engulfed in a black aura, and he could see his blade shudder slightly. Pyrrha's eyes became almost distant for a moment, and he had just begun to worry when it stopped.

"It is an old blade, I can tell you that much," Pyrrha noted, and Jaune was surprised as she sounded almost...impressed. He was caught further off guard when one of her hands seized his, forcing his hands to cradle the blade. "Feel the balancing!"

"Yeah, it's always been like that," Jaune started, but Pyrrha shook her head. Reaching to her side, she withdrew her own weapon, spinning it into its xiphos form.

"Hold this, and tell me the difference."

Jaune paused for a moment, holding the weapons in different hands. The xiphos was obviously lighter, and the weight was way shorter as a result. The main mass of the xiphos was in the center, where the diamond-like structure was centered, while the longsword was weighted more along the tip.

But as he continued holding them, he could almost begin to feel something, though he couldn't put his finger on it. "There's something...but I couldn't tell you what."

"It's hard to tell unless you can feel the inside, but the metal is not the same all the way through. From the way it felt, I would say the core is probably dust-infused," Pyrrha shared with a smile, nodding her thanks as Jaune offered her weapon back.

"And..?" Jaune felt like he was missing a crucial puzzle piece here. A lot of weapons were dust infused; that was just how they were designed.

"In the old days, they didn't have the ability to refine dust the same way we do now. They had the materials, but they couldn't harness it with the same purity. They knew how to refine metals, and applied that same process to dust infused ores. The weapons would be forged with metals from an ore vein, and manifest their properties when their wielders channeled aura into them," she explained before gesturing to his weapon. "Your weapon seems to have been forged with multiple veins."

Jaune soaked in the information, turning the weapon in his hands. He couldn't see any difference in the metal, but he trusted Pyrrha's analysis. If that was true, how could he use it? "So...I could create elemental effects with this?"

"Sort of. I will admit I am not an expert," Pyrrha apologized. "Most of the ores they worked with when this weapon was likely made were probably simple, so it might just be fire, or lightning. New dust is manufactured, so I doubt you would be able to recreate gravity dust for instance."

"That figures," he replied with a smile, sheathing the weapon. "Still, thanks Pyrrha. Guess that's something to work towards."

"No problem, Jaune. Now, since I taught you something, might you teach me something?"

"Not sure what I can teach someone as skilled as you about, but sure, I guess."

"I noticed you were looking up at the sky. Do you know the stars?"

"Yeah. Everyone knows them though."

Pyrrha shook her head. "Southern Mistral, remember? We have a different set. These ones are new to me."

Jaune facepalmed as he realized his mistake, prompting a light giggle from Pyrrha. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-"

"It is alright. You did not offend me. Now, were you looking at any in particular?"

* * *

Ruby awoke in a hurry as the sound of gunfire echoed across the treetops. In an instant, she had thrown aside her sleeping bag, and staggered to her feet, her gun twirling to the ready. Spinning, she noted everyone else also rushing to their feet.

But no enemies.

More shots broke out, and Ruby realized that the sounds were coming from further away. In a moment, she was able to pinpoint them, coming from back where they had started.

Shotgun.

Rifle.

Sword.

More than one person in trouble, that much was for certain, and close enough to hear the sound of melee combat. The roars of Grimm were evident. Something stuck in the back of her mind, but she couldn't figure out what it was. All she knew was that there were people in danger.

She took a half step forward, ready to leap in, when she suddenly remembered everyone else. She looked back, scanning their faces for any kind of sense. The confusion and energy in the air was making it hard for her to read them. Should she go? Should she wait? Would she get punished? Would-

"We'll catch up!" Jaune urged her, waving for her to go. Ruby glanced at Weiss, who just nodded quickly as she armed herself. With that resolved, she didn't hesitate as she jumped forward, firing a shot in order to gain speed.

Weaving rapidly through the trees, she could hear the wave behind her _shredding_ the bark, and slashing into the trees, but she didn't care right now. Some distance behind her, she could hear the spring patter of Ren's footsteps, and the clinking of Emerald's chains.

Breaking into the open, the first thing that hit her was the smell of fire. Then the sight of a spray of it, surging through the midnight black bodies of Beowolves. The force with which they were being lifted told her that the weapon was spraying fire dust at high power, and only the bodies were preventing it from hitting a stray tree and setting everything on fire.

The ground shook under her mere moments later, and she planted her scythe in an attempt to steady herself as a couple of Beowolves seemed to almost disappear. Where they had stood, a crater had opened in the earth.

There was only one team she knew of that would have such an explosive arsenal, and a flash of yellow amidst the chaos was all the confirmation she needed. "Yang!"

"Ruby?" Her sister's voice rose over the thundering of the conflict. "Where are you?"

A crack sounded out as Yang knocked a Beowolf into the sky, and she could almost imagine Yang fighting her way through the Beowolves. But they needed to stay in formation in order to hold. "Stay there! Hold the line!"

Sighting down her rifle, she briefly wished she had gravity dust before taking a breath. With the barrel steadied by the blade, and the body of the weapon against her own, she was able to cancel out some of the shaking. Still wasn't easy, considering just how volatile the field was.

Rapidly, Ruby began firing shots, aiming for the best targets available. Body shots were easy, but headshots in this level of chaos were nigh impossible. She heard both of the more mobile companions land and add their light guns fire to the mix, rattling off and striking the nearest foes.

As the pack realized their newest threat, some turned to face their flank. Ruby realized the situation was quickly escalating, and they had only part of their team at hand. Three highly agile but ultimately fragile members.

"Scatter!" she shouted, yanking her scythe out of the ground just in time to roll to the side, feeling the swing of the Beowolf go wide. She could hear the bark of another one lunging and kicked up mid-roll, jumping over another claw before landing on her feet. The instant she had grip under her boots, she used her Semblance, leaping out of range.

For a brief moment, she was suspended upside down, half-pirouetting away from the Beowolves. As they rushed forward, she made a quick mental judgement. There were too many for her to use her ammo on; she would have to use her blade.

When the first one reached her, she could see it react with surprise as she suddenly lunged forward to meet it, her reach extending in a flash before a yank back took its head off.

She caught the claw of the next one with the body of her scythe, brushing it to the side while using the force to spin around. Her scythe was in the exact wrong position to impale it, but she brought the backstop down on its head, smashing it into the ground. Another one tried to jump over its fallen brother, but she swung the blade upwards, bisecting it.

However, the next Beowolf passed her guard, knocking her back. Skipping off the ground, she increased the distance, glaring at the Beowolves. She glanced down at her side, relieved to see it hadn't pierced her aura. Still, these ones were more coordinated than usual.

For the moment, they fanned out, slowly pacing around her. If she stayed in one spot and fought them, she would be overwhelmed, but if she kept moving, she would run out of ammo, or aura, depending on how she did it.

While she had a breather, she glanced around, trying to gauge how the others were doing. Emerald was doing a much better job of evading than her, using the trees and her chains to outmaneuver the Beowolves, though Ruby did note that she seemed to be slightly worried, and a few of the swings were a bit close for comfort. Ren, meanwhile, was having less problems than them.

Ren was somehow holding his own. His twin blades whirled about, making even his dodges deadly. His foot arced during one turn and kicked a Beowolf back with enough force to break its arm. If she survived this, Ruby made a mental note to learn how to do that.

A growl made Ruby snap back to the present, noting with surprise one of the Beowolves had crept close on her flank, and she jumped back just in time to avoid its swing. Frowning, she shot it without hesitation. That one was worth a shot.

Still, she had nowhere near enough for all of them, and she could still hear the maelstrom of Yang's group. How was she going to-

A loud metallic clang came from her left, and she watched with wide eyes as Jaune slammed into a Beowolf's side, his white armour standing out against the creature's dark hide. The creature threw its arms wide in order to stabilize, and left itself open to attack. And Jaune did attack, bringing his sword down with both hands.

"Charge!" he roared, causing the Beowolves to turn in surprise. Once more they had been flanked, and this time they didn't have mass on their side. Taking on three more agile targets had spread them out, and even the young Huntsmen could shatter their thin line.

Ruby took advantage of the opening to shred the nearest one, killing it before it had realized it had taken its eyes off her. Ahead of her, Jaune shield-charged another Beowolf, knocking it back. He wasn't able to rush forward fast enough to take advantage of the opening, but Pyrrha was, sliding under his shield. Her spear extended quickly, plunging straight into the beast's chest before she continued the slide under its legs and transitioned into a run.

"Ruby, brace!" Beneath her, Ruby heard an almost gong-like crash, and she saw the glyph moments before it went off, already tensing.

In a moment, she was speeding off, and she adapted quickly. With practiced motions, she became a whirling dervish of death, slicing at any appendage she could reach. Arms, legs, and heads all faced her scythe, and were found wanting.

Touching down on the ground, she raised her scythe to block a counter attack before grunting heavily. Swinging her scythe to the side, she let the Grimm fall to its hands before heaving the weapon back the other way. The blunt end slammed into its chest, throwing it like a golf ball.

Satisfied, Ruby quickly looked to see where she could help. Nora, set in heavier armour, was basically wading through the Beowolves. Ruby was more than impressed when one that attempted an attack got a solid gauntlet to the face that snapped the creature's neck. Seemed Ren wasn't the only proficient unarmed fighter.

Weiss, meanwhile, was doing what she could to assist the others, temporarily stalling sections of the field with frozen feet, or speeding up an ally for a brief moment. No glyph was maintained for any more time than was necessary, and it almost resembled some kind of elegant dance as Weiss spun the chamber on Myrtenaster in time with her motions. On second thought, it reminded Ruby more of a composer.

A deadly one, Ruby amended, as she watched Weiss dodge an attack before countering with a series of quick skewers.

Ruby smiled to herself. She wasn't going to be left out of the fighting.

* * *

When the last Beowolf fell, Ruby sighed with exhaustion, her scythe suddenly feeling heavy in her hands. She glanced around quickly just to make sure it was really over.

As she looked, it suddenly dawned on her the scale of the encounter they had just been through. Most of the bodies had already disintegrated, and those that hadn't were doing so, but the ripped earth marked attacks and counter attacks.

A sheet of ice still covered a section of the battlefield, while she could see the criss-crossing slashes of her own handiwork in the ground. She made a mental note to sharpen Crescent Rose later; just thinking about how much rock her blade had carved through made her feel bad for her baby.

But the true mark of it was where Yang and her friends stood. The area was _scorched_, down to the last blade of grass. A borderline trench surrounded them, charred and uprooted, with huge craters everywhere.

And it wasn't a surprise why.

Between the members of the group, not one of them had anything nearing "subtle." A flamethrower, a thundergun, shotguns, and a mace, to say nothing of their alternate forms.

Nonetheless, her sister stood proudly above the ashes, a brilliant and rather vicious looking expression content to surmise her emotions. Her sister had always been easy to read, compared to everyone else.

And as her eyes settled on Ruby, only one thought filtered through her head. _Not again_.

She didn't have time to brace for the hug.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

"Ruby! Are you alright?" Yang asked, her voice straining slightly as she hugged her sister in a bone crushing embrace.

"Am I alright?" Ruby managed to choke out, disbelief evident in her voice. "You're the one who got ambushed!"

"That was just fun," Yang grinned, standing proudly. She gave a small flourish, brushing aside some dirt on her gauntlets, as if for show.

"What happened?" Weiss asked, an edge of command to her tone. Ruby glanced at Weiss, sensing some annoyance, but she couldn't pinpoint why. Had her sister done something to annoy her?

"We came looking for Ruby is all. Wanted to make sure my little sis was safe. What's got your panties in a twist?" Yang asked, flashing a smile equally vicious and teasing.

To her credit, Weiss hardly flinched. "Do you have any idea how unsubtle you are? Or how reckless?"

Yang crossed her arms, snorting slightly as she towered over Weiss. "Oh yeah princess? What do you mean by that?"

"Somehow I doubt you were being overly stealthy, hence why you were attacked by such a large contingent of Beowolves. And in your melee, you barely respected the lines of engagement, or mitigated collateral."

Weiss continued before Yang could interrupt, turning to point to a section of destroyed earth. "About halfway through the battle, Ruby eliminated a flank of Beowolves over there. Seconds after leaving, the area was doused in flame."

"But she-"

"And over there, Jaune and Pyrrha were almost knocked aside by an explosion while removing the other flank. Nora's aura absorbed some stray spray from _your_ shotguns. Ren-"

"Alright I get it!" Yang interrupted, her eyes flickering red as she glared at Weiss. "You had me at the flames bit. It's not like we were expecting back up."

"That may be true, but you should have been more mindful of your allies when they arrived. How would you have felt if your sister had sustained an injury because of your negligence?"

Yang was deadly silent for a moment, and Ruby could feel her heart stop. Yang's eyes turned a deeper shade of red, and Ruby flinched as she tensed. To her surprise, she merely took a deep breath, letting it go slowly. When she finished, she somehow mounted a broad smile on her face. "Alright, princess. I get it. You've made your point."

The corner of Weiss' eye twitched, but she said nothing as Yang stepped away, striding up to Ruby. "Well, in any case, I'm glad to see you're alright. Guess we'll get out of your guys' way for now though."

Yang leaned in closer, wrapping her arm around Ruby. "So what's up with ice queen? She's colder than-"

"Nothing Yang," Ruby insisted before her sister could let out another pun. "She's just...strict is all. Please, don't ruin this for me."

Yang's eyes widened in surprise, and she glanced at Weiss. A small frown settled onto her lips, and she looked to Ruby with concern. "You sure, Ruby? If you want, we can-"

"Really, Yang. Please. She's strong and smart and I really think that I can do something this way. I don't want to disappoint…" Ruby begged.

Yang sighed, visually deflating. "Alright Ruby. Your choice. Just know that we're always there for you if you need it."

Ruby smiled at her sister, chuckling slightly as she nudged her arm. Yang turned to her team. "Alright guys, let's blow this popsicle stand!"

Watching them go, Ruby let out a long breath, feeling more tired now than she had at the end of the battle. Still, she found herself dragging her feet over to Weiss, who looked at her with a neutral expression. Weiss began talking before she could even ask.

"You're wondering why I chewed them out," Weiss stated. Ruby just nodded, feeling nervous even attempting to ask. "I hold every member of my team to a high standard, but beyond that, I attempt to hold everyone to the highest standard possible. Back in Atlas, you have to have each squad up to the same level, since even one weak link means that the entire operation can fail. Not everyone can reach the same level, but they can push themselves to reach the highest level they can. And that starts by holding them to the highest standard possible."

Ruby bit her lip, trying to think of how to phrase the questions running through her head. Weiss' expression softened slightly, and she gently touched Ruby's shoulder. "You don't have to ask now. When a question comes to you, feel free to ask. As a leader, I owe you that."

After Ruby nodded, Weiss smiled, turning to the others. "What's our status?"

"All in one piece," Jaune confirmed with a sigh of exhaustion.

"Still kicking captain," Nora agreed with a smile, hefting her hammer over her shoulder. "So, what's the plan?"

"Same as before," Weiss assured. "We're going to see if we can find anything else to-"

Weiss trailed off as a distant sound became apparent in the distance. Silently, they strained their hearing, and Ruby began to realize it was the sound of engines and propellers. Bullheads, likely coming to start securing students.

"Sounds like Bullheads. About three of them," Ren announced with certainty.

"If we stick to the forest, we should be able to avoid their detection," Jaune suggested, turning as he headed towards the trees. After a moment, Ruby and the others followed, and he escalated to a light jog.

Soon, they were under the cover of the trees, creeping along. Ruby had to smile slightly at the image in her mind. Here they were, hiding from the people trying to 'rescue' them. It brought to mind all the movies she had watched with Yang about delinquent students, skipping class and sneaking around. And yet they were doing it to get better scores, not worse ones. Even she could see the irony.

"Hold up," Emerald commanded, catching Ruby by surprise. The sound of the propellers had gotten louder, and she realized they were almost on top of them. Everyone quietly slunk into the shadows, and Emerald glared up hard at the trees, her eyes flicking side to side as she listened.

Finally, the Bullhead came into view, and her eyes briefly locked onto it. Ruby swore her eyes glimmered for a second, though whether it was from the change in the light, or something else, she couldn't say. The Bullhead continued along, none the wiser that it had passed not one, but two groups of students.

Once it had passed, everyone let out a collective breath, and began walking again. It was quiet going for the most part, until Ruby realized that Weiss and Ren were leading the group, and that Ren was following a horde of tracks in the ground. Beowolf tracks.

Briefly, Ruby wondered why they were following the tracks of an enemy they had already defeated. A few ideas came to mind; there had been no alpha, so it could still be at large, and they intended to take it out. Alternatively, Weiss had some suspicion that it would lead them somewhere. It was more than they had right now.

Ruby's thinking was interrupted by Jaune _very _subtly stumbling around the others to join her side. "So uh..back there, that was your sister?"

"Yeah, sorry, she can be…"

"No worries," Jaune assured her as she fished for the words. "I have seven of 'em. I've experienced the whole gamut. Still, nice that she looks out for you."

"She's always done that, when she wasn't busy getting me into trouble," Ruby chuckled. Even so, she found herself sighing slightly.

She hoped this wasn't going to ruin things with Yang. Her sister meant well, but still...she couldn't help but feel coddled. Sure, she wasn't the most social, but she knew she was a good fighter, and she'd only improve.

"Everything alright-" Jaune started, but paused as Weiss' hand went up.

"Hold," Weiss ordered. Ruby quickly looked forward, grasping her weapon tighter, only to see Ren holding his own hand up to motion for a stop.

"We're close," Ren stated calmly, not even turning around. His whole body tensed slightly, and she could hear him murmur something undetectable. "I...don't sense any Grimm though."

"What do you mean?" Pyrrha asked.

"I have my suspicions," Nora answered, looking unusually grim. That didn't comfort Ruby, though it did mean she could stop holding her scythe so tightly. She noted no one else put away their weapons either.

The trees soon began to thin again, and Ruby gave a small cry as her boot caught a chunk of something. She managed to stabilize, and turned to glare at whatever it had been, only to realize it was an overgrown wooden wall of some form. Most of it had been mulched back to the earth, but the corner had caught her foot. The rest was nowhere to be seen.

Finally, they stepped into the light, and Ruby hissed in surprise at the sight. It appeared to be an old town, mostly worn down and reclaimed by the wilderness. A few heavy carts lay scattered, criss-crossed with claw gashes.

The scarring extended to the few standing buildings as well, and Ruby frowned as she looked around. This place was obviously wrecked, but she couldn't see any signs of more Beowolves.

"Where did the Beowolves go? There has to be more."

"What was this place?" Jaune asked aloud.

"Looks like it was a mining town," Weiss answered.

"All astute observations children," a new voice interrupted. Everyone whirled about to see a man in some kind of explorer outfit observing them from behind opaque silver glasses. "At ease; I'm Dr. Oobleck."

"Dr. Oobleck? What are you doing here? I thought-" Weiss began.

"That we weren't going to be interfering? You are mostly correct Ms. Schnee. However, do keep in mind some students are headed for the far edge of the forest, and they still have to get back to the school. Those students will be transported by Bullhead in order to save them time and energy."

"Then what are you doing here? We're in the middle of the forest," Jaune pointed out.

"Not far from here, a clearing was marked by signs of a large struggle. The team responsible mentioned that two teams had assisted them, and so we thought to look at the nearest location. Imagine my surprise when I found it absent of Grimm!"

"Wait, this place is normally occupied by them?" Ruby asked, getting lost. Oobleck spoke quite quickly, and she felt as if she was missing two out of three words in the hurry.

"Of course. These are the ruins of Bullseye after all."

"I've never heard of-"

"Of course you haven't. It did not last long. Overrun by Grimm in the early years," he summarized, taking a sip of a thermos he had produced at some point during the conversation. He paused, adjusting his glasses. "Tell me, why do you think the town was overrun?"

"It's got poor defensive planning. No mountains to control the approach, and no walls to compensate," Weiss pointed out, straightening as if reciting.

"Walls don't help," Ren pointed out, a bitter note creeping into his voice.

"You are both correct," Oobleck agreed, taking another sip. "But that is not the reason I am thinking of."

"It is outside Vale's control?" Pyrrha tried.

"At the time of its founding, it was. However, Ms. Nikos, you must also recall that several major cities were outside the protection zones of Vale. Look at Patch. Geographically isolated to a mostly forested island. Not only would you have to traverse the water to reinforce it, pushing into the interior would be challenging. And yet both Ms. Rose and Mr. Arc hail from there."

"So what is the answer?" Emerald demanded, irritation evident on her face.

"To answer the question, I ask you another question; why would the Beowolves stay here, and why would there be no Alpha?"

"Grimm are attracted to places of pain and suffering," Ruby answered sadly. She knew that much. "The town must be full of it."

"I do not expect you to get the full answer now, so I will tell you this; Bullseye was indeed a mining town. And that is why it was attacked. It was settled out of greed and arrogance, and those are negative emotions. Emotions which attract Grimm."

"But that still doesn't answer why there is no Alpha," Nora pointed out.

"You're right. It doesn't. Unfortunately, that is all I can teach you for now. Once we have studied Grimm a bit more, I suspect you will learn the reason why for yourself," Oobleck promised, and Ruby thought she could almost hear a note of sadness in his voice. Suddenly he straightened. "Alright then children, while I'm here, I should return you to the Academy."

"That's alright, Doctor," Weiss insisted. "We're trying to get more points."

"And points you have earned," Oobleck retorted, gesturing around. "You found Bullseye. That itself is worth a point. And for giving such excellent answers and taking the question seriously, another two."

Oobleck smiled slightly at the expressions of shock on everyone's faces, but kept talking. "Now, those points are liable to be retracted should I have to deal with any disobedient students, so I would recommend we take the Bullhead back to the Academy, post-haste."

* * *

Things were a little awkward as the Bullhead began to fill with students that had made it to the edges of the forest. The mass of bodies was bad enough, but the weapons were also a factor. Numerous pointed ends were carefully tucked into their holsters, or strapped into something to prevent them from injuring everyone.

But the weirdest part was the sense of dissonance. Ruby had expected to see the other students crawling out of the edge of the forest, looking tired and spent. Instead, they had come out at a stroll, looking mildly disappointed, but fairly well rested. At first, she had worried they had all performed better than her group, and with less people, but she slowly came to realize from listening that almost all of them had done nothing more than walk in a straight line, hoping to come across some kind of easy points.

A few had done more than that, actually searching, but of them, only one other group she had overheard had actually found something worth mentioning. And even they looked pretty untouched.

Ruby looked at her companions. They all looked tired, and she could see bruises on a few of them, not to mention dirt and dust stains. She had no doubt she looked just as bad, if not worse. And she could _feel_ the eyes on them.

By comparison, they must have looked positively scruffy. She held the edge of her cloak in her hands, twisting and wringing the fabric to help. It would need a good cleaning, And her scythe would need some sharpening too.

Her fingers twitched slightly at that. Her encounters with the Grimm had gotten the gears in her head spinning. There were modifications she could make to her sweetheart that would improve its combat abilities. Perhaps she could convince Pyrrha to let her see her spear?

"Everything alright, Ruby?"

Ruby jumped, and was surprised to see Nora looking at her with concern. Feebly, she tried to put on her best smile. "Yeah, just...thinking about how to get my cloak clean, you know?"

Nora smiled slightly, and Ruby worried she had been seen through, but Nora simply offered a hand. "Mind if I take a look?"

After a moment's hesitation, Ruby undid the clips holding it on, handing it to Nora. She felt naked and exposed without it, but Nora accepted it gently, inspecting it with the utmost care. After a minute "hmm'ing," she turned to Ren. "Hey Ren, you think we can get these out?"

Ren leaned down, looking at the cloth seriously, as if inspecting a fine piece of art. "I would say so. We'll have to see what the store has in stock."

"It's okay guys, really…"

"Nonsense. On the road, our clothes got dirty all the time. We learned all sorts of neat tricks to keeping 'em clean AND sturdy. After all, a worn out shirt isn't going to help when winter comes. Once the teams are sorted and everything, we'll head to town together, see what we can whip up!" Nora insisted, flashing a brilliant grin. Ruby found herself getting swept in by the enthusiasm, and tentatively nodded.

"Alright, sure. Sounds like a plan," she agreed, trying to sound excited. She was just about to fasten the crosses back in place when Nora wrapped an arm around her roughly.

"That's the spirit!"

Ruby had a none-too-subtle feeling that her life was going to get a lot more...interesting.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Normally, the anxious atmosphere would have gotten to Ruby, but right now, she could only feel the weight of exhaustion. They had returned to the amphitheatre, and she could already see people beginning to congregate in groups.

Glancing to the side, she could see her friends looking as tired as her. They had staked out a spot near the wall so they could at least have some room to relax. Nora, Emerald, and Jaune had all sat down, Pyrrha was still standing tall, and Ren somehow seemed to be mostly unaffected by it all. Weiss was the worst though; she stood at almost full parade attention, her eyes narrow in focus as she scanned the crowd.

"Weiss, you should sit while you can," Ruby suggested, nervously twisting the fabric of her skirt. Weiss looked at her for a moment before obliging, albeit slowly. Even so, Ruby could see her staring through the crowd, analyzing them.

Pausing a moment, Ruby tried looking out at the crowd, straining to see what Weiss was seeing. All she could really see was weapons. A lot of them, but nothing particularly eye-catching. It was kind of a mess though, with so many people in groups.

Somehow, she doubted Weiss was looking at just the weapons. What could she be looking for? She seemed really...critical of people's skills, but she didn't see how you were supposed to get that from just looking at them. It had to be something else.

Maybe it was the people themselves? There were a lot of them, and just thinking about it made Ruby nervous. She felt a little more comfortable with friends near her, but even so, she couldn't imagine what it would be like to be one of the people standing by themselves-

Suddenly it hit Ruby. "You're looking for another team member."

Weiss smiled slightly as Ruby blurted the words out. "That I am. There are seven of us here, but teams require four. We need at least one more person."

It suddenly occurred to Ruby that she might not end up on the same team as Weiss. Sure, getting teamed up with Nora or Ren wouldn't be bad, but what if she let Ozpin down? What if she couldn't push herself? "S...So who do you think will make which team?"

Weiss raised an eyebrow at the stutter, but didn't comment on it. "Well, I should hope I get a team. I would not be surprised if Pyrrha were given one though. That said...Jaune did show a little bit of potential."

Ruby sighed a little in relief. If Weiss and Pyrrha both became team leaders, she could join one of their teams. She didn't think either of them would object, after all they had been through. And no one else knew her, so…

"Even if we end up across different teams, I don't think there is any reason not to train together," Weiss pointed out. Ruby couldn't help but smile, even if it was a little unwarranted. "I already told you I would."

Weiss perked up a little, and began to stand up. Ruby leaned to peer through the crowd and shot to her feet when she saw Ozpin stepping onto the stage. It was time. Tension built in Ruby's chest as she strained to listen. Even as Ozpin approached the mic, the noise in the room dropped to absolute silence, allowing his cane to be the only sound.

"I must congratulate you all on passing the opening exam. Your individual performances have been logged and reviewed. From this, we have discerned who among you are fit to lead. Once your name has been called, you will report to the stage," Ozpin explained, his eyes narrowing as he lifted a Scroll.

Ruby watched as people were called. On the screen behind him, twenty-eight slots were displayed. The team leaders. One hundred and twelve students, in teams of four. Slowly, the slots were filled. Ruby had to admit, the people Ozpin chose certainly seemed like leaders. They were all proud, tall, and confident. Just how you envisioned them.

"Weiss Schnee."

Weiss' eyes widened slightly at the call of her name, but she recovered quickly. With only a minor nod to the team, she began quickly, but regally, making her way towards the stage, her composure allowing her passage through the crowd easily. There was a certain grace to it that made Ruby watch fixedly. Her steps were small, and measured, almost intentionally dainty.

She was so distracted that she almost missed the next name called. "Jaune Arc."

Ruby took a second to process the name, but it took Jaune even longer. He had paused mid-sentence, looking out at the crowd with a confused expression. Thankfully, he stopped short of asking what they were looking at when he realized what had just happened.

"Go get 'em tiger!" Nora cheered with a smile, breaking the silence. With a heavy hand, she shoved him forward. As he slowly walked forward, Ruby let out the breath she had been holding, relieved that the scene had been less than it could have been.

Still...glancing up at the board, she couldn't help but feel a heavy anxiety setting over her. Jaune had been picked as a leader...and there weren't many spots left. Privately, she wondered if she had let Ozpin down somehow. If she wasn't picked, was that a sign that she had displeased him? Would he drop her entirely?

Those thoughts only cemented as the last spot filled up, and she wasn't called. Setting her jaw, she mechanically clapped as her worries played over each other like the waves, each disorienting her thoughts until she found herself sitting by the wall, letting the scenes play out in front of her eyes.

"Are you okay Ruby?"

"Huh? What?" Ruby startled at Pyrrha's concerned voice. "Sorry, I spaced."

"That is alright. You just looked really worried about something."

"I just...hey wait a second. You weren't picked?" Ruby blurted out. As she stared, she realized what it sounded like she was saying. "Oh sorry! I didn't mean to-"

"It is okay Ruby," Pyrrha assured with a kind smile. "I suppose Ozpin simply decided my skills were better elsewhere. Do not worry Ruby, I am fine."

Looking at Pyrrha's broad smile, she could believe it. In fact she seemed almost...relieved? Ruby shook her head; she couldn't tell. Still, that at least was reassuring. Even the Mistrali champion had been declined for leadership.

Though it did make her wonder what exactly they were looking for in leaders, and how they had decided on them so quickly.

* * *

The room they were led to appeared to be a classroom, temporarily cleared to allow for them to have some space and privacy. Ozpin calmly stepped to the side, allowing the leaders to trickle into the room. "Please, sit wherever. It will only take a moment to explain the proceedings."

Weiss narrowed her eyes slightly as she glanced back at Ozpin. She somehow doubted that an entire team-building system could be that simple, but perhaps they had narrowed in on some tried and true method.

She noted a couple of the other leaders were congregating close together, talking lightly as they sat down. Some sat in the rows, but she kept walking, moving to sit herself in the shaded windowsill. She didn't want anyone looking over her shoulder when she made her selections.

Even so, she didn't move to stop Jaune as he sat down by the wall a few feet from her. He likely already knew her choices, not that it mattered too much. Besides, she didn't have him pegged for a manipulative type.

A small tap of Ozpin's cane was all it took to get their attention. "Now that you have been selected as team leaders, it comes time to select your teams. No doubt, many of you have asked yourselves questions about how it works, or how to be close to your friends."

"The teams will be built in rounds. One pick at a time. The round will last until the last person has selected their choice, so there is no rush. In the event of two students selecting the same student, that students' Scrolls will be sent a notification, alerting them to the tie. They will then settle the tie themselves."

"As a final note before I leave you to your selection, these teams, while not permanent, are not a light choice. Any and all transfers or issues with lineups that occur over your enrollment _will be noted_. That is all," Ozpin declared with finality. With a small nod, he stepped back out of the room, closing the doors behind him.

"Kinda serious, don't you think?" Jaune asked, trying to laugh away the nervous air.

"He's just trying to ensure everyone puts as much thought and weight into this as they should," Weiss affirmed, flicking through the list. This had been one of the formats she had expected, and she had to give points to Ozpin for picking one of the most logical ones. Whipping out her Scroll, she began the process.

Without a doubt, she grabbed Pyrrha first. After a brief moment, she glanced at Jaune's Scroll. She didn't want to actively step on his toes, but she wasn't going to settle for less than the best. Nora, Ren, and Emerald were all skilled, and nice enough, but if she wanted to push herself to the best, she needed another level entirely.

To her relief, he grabbed Emerald first. An odd choice, she had to admit, but not a bad one. Smiling to himself, he glanced up at her. "Who are you picking?"

Weiss said nothing, instead tilting the screen of her Scroll so he could see. To his credit, Jaune didn't seem perturbed, simply nodding approvingly. "Good choice."

"We should discuss choices while the others pick," Weiss advised, before holding up her hand to silence Jaune. "Don't use names. Just images."

Jaune cocked his head, confused. Weiss nodded her head towards the room, and Jaune seemed to realize what she was alluding to. Tapping a few buttons, he tilted the screen, showing a small group.

_Nora, Ren, Ruby._

Prospective choices, not set ones. Weiss tilted hers, showing a slightly different order. _Ruby, Nora, Ren_.

"Sounds like we'll have to work it out," Jaune noted with a smile.

"Not necessarily. The two of them work better as a team, and I'm already fairly certain that I'm getting some strong teammates. I have to leave some for you," Weiss noted with a light chuckle.

To her surprise, Jaune laughed along. It had been a while since she'd been able to share a joke. "I suppose that's true. Who else do you have in mind?"

"Not sure yet. I'm going to spend my rounds looking through the lists," Weiss explained off-handedly, beginning to scroll. All the time in the CCT was paying off, and she tabbed through pages quickly, trying to gauge the pool she was pulling from.

Several of the students already had ear-marking in terms of pre-claims, or interesting, existing connections. Even before she had selected Ruby and Pyrrha, they had been marked in her Scroll, along with the others in the forest group. It only made sense; it was a psychological edge to try and steer people away from nabbing from established groups.

Even so, it did make her job a little bit more difficult. All in all, it was already a tangled web of weighted values and connections. It kind of reminded her off the stocks back at home.

_Every stock has a price, but there is more to it. Linked companies will rise and fall, together. It's a complex web, and it's up to us to try and uphold that web_, her father had said. Even now, she could hear the unspoken implication: _by any means necessary_.

Shaking the thought from her mind, she instead began looking through the students. It would be for the best to earmark a few before the final rounds were-

A sidebar opened up, and she could see Pyrrha's file image had loaded into the second slot, her own face occupying the first. Looking up, she could see some students celebrating, while others sighed or even cursed. The first round was closing.

"Nice," Jaune muttered with a smile. _Seems he got Emerald_. A small note popped up on her own Scroll, from Ruby nonetheless. _I'm waiting with Nora until Ren is assigned. Hope you don't mind?_

Weiss simply sent an affirmative.

In the meanwhile, she began sifting through the list of students. There were large amounts with marks indicating preference or associations. For now, she was looking through the unmarked ones.

Most of them seemed to either be independent applicants, and a few foreigners. Though technically she supposed she was in the latter category as well. Briefly, she paused, a thought striking her. Between Pyrrha, Ruby, and her, they covered three of the major continents. They all knew a fair amount about training in their respective homelands, but there was always the last one: Vacuo. Perhaps there was something to be gained by having people from all the different regions?

Weiss decided to entertain the thought for a moment, filtering to the list of Vacuon students. There were a few in groups, but a large amount of either pairs or solos. Glancing up, she could even see a couple of them here.

Returning her focus to the Scroll, she began looking through the students. Most of them were pretty standard; talented and skilled, certainly, but with a notable lack of anything that caught her eye. It was hard to explain just what she was looking for, but she had some standards in mind.

_Tell me Weiss, why do we deal with Ironwood? He's brash, and sometimes antagonistic to us._

_He's driven, and motivated. He's more likely to do something than anyone else_, she had replied. Despite the unpleasant feeling it left, that's what she was looking for.

Finally, someone caught her eyes. _Alabaster Mazarine_. As she went through his page, a few things caught her eye. Firstly, his scores seemed average, if a little low in some places. Academically, they seemed to do quite well, though a list of absences explained why they weren't higher. To Weiss' surprise, they had a few awards and recognitions to their name, some of which she had seen on the others, but overall, told her this was someone who was trying.

She could see why someone glancing would dismiss them. The scores by themselves weren't great, but considering how often this person had been absent, Weiss could say she was surprised they were as high as they were. Most notably though, several of the recommendations came from outside the Academy, added atop the surprisingly earnest ones from their professors.

Her finger hovered over the selection, and she briefly pondered it. Ozpin had stressed that their selections would bear weight, and she believed him. However...should Alabaster not work out, she was sure she could come up with a compelling argument to allow them to shift up the teams. After all, if Alabaster's absences turned out to be laziness, it wouldn't be productive for the whole team. Ozpin would have to recognize that.

_Besides, you can't have a perfect team, no matter how hard you try_, Weiss reminded herself, before smiling slightly. _But you can build one_.

She made her selection.

* * *

Pyrrha and Emerald's Scrolls went off first. Ruby glanced over the warrior's shoulder, seeing the Schnee logo, along with several others. She wasn't surprised; Pyrrha was a well known fighter, not to mention quite powerful.

Through the auditorium, she could hear people cheering, or talking with friends. It was a sudden shift, and one that passed into silence as soon as it had come as thought and debate took place.

It had occupied her thoughts so much she had jumped a mile when her own Scroll went off almost immediately after the previous round had ended. Flicking it out, she felt her heart stop and jump at the same time, halting her breathing as she saw the Schnee snowflake.

A broad smile quickly made its way onto her face as she stood, only for Nora to do the same. "You get picked too?"

"Yep. Looks like Jaune's calling." Nora turned her Scroll so she could see the crescents printed across it. They took half a step when Nora paused, looking back to Ren, a hard to read expression on her face.

Ruby flicked her eyes between them, trying to read the situation. _They might end up on different teams_, she realized after a moment. Part of her wanted to just move along, and let it be their problem so she wouldn't have to deal with any potential emotions. But she could never do that.

With a smile, she walked over to Nora, placing a hand on her shoulder. "We can wait to see how the third round turns out before we get going. I'll stick with you!"

Flashing her best smile, Ruby hoped it was enough. Nora smiled slightly and nodded. With a sigh, she sat back down, leaning back on her hands. "Alright. Sounds like a plan!"

"Nora, you don't have to worry about me," Ren insisted with a small smile.

"Are you silly? I'm not going anywhere until I can meet your team leader and personally ensure they treat you right," she joked with a boisterous laugh.

Ruby smiled and chuckled, operating her Scroll with one hand as she listened to the two banter. _I'm waiting with Nora until Ren is assigned. Hope you don't mind?_

In a flash, Weiss had sent a simple _Affirmative_. Ruby smiled slightly; she supposed that was enough of an answer. Tucking the Scroll away, she looked back up, and glanced around.

There was a tense atmosphere in the auditorium, even more so than when it started. It was the last round, and everyone was waiting to get picked. She could tell that much.

Part of her wanted to see what teams formed, and what kind of combinations they had. It was going to be so cool!

"Ah, that will be the last round," Ren observed, pulling out his Scroll. He briefly tapped through it, then turned it around to reveal the crescents. Nora launched herself in celebration, tackling the thin boy.

"I knew it, I knew it, I knew it!" Nora shouted, celebrating. It was only when Ren groaned from the weight of Nora's armour that she sat up, letting him free. She chuckled nervously. "Well uh, we should get going then, yeah?"

Ruby blinked for a moment. Nora's whole personality had turned on a lien, but she wasn't going to point that out. Instead, she stood up, stretching slightly as she did so. "Come on, let's go!"

Walking in front of the other two, Ruby led them through the crowd. It was a practiced skill really. Bumping into people meant having to apologize, or possibly having to talk to them. Asking people to move was a task in and of itself.

Stepping up onto the stage was harder though, since nearly everyone was filtering down the same hallway. Dozens of Scrolls illuminated it with the bluish hue as they followed the instructions on the screen to the designated room. Glancing at Nora's, it seemed they were headed to almost the same place.

There was a surprising lack of talking as everyone headed to the dorms. Perhaps they were tired, or nervous, but Ruby didn't know. It was just a relief when they arrived, and people started peeling away into the rooms. Sometimes, there was celebration when the door opened, and displays of enthusiasm that crowded the hallway slightly more, but other times, it was just a quiet entry.

The crowd was rapidly thinning, and soon they were part of a thin trickle nearing the bend of the hallway. Fortunately, it seemed their rooms were just ahead. Glancing up, Ruby spotted the number on the door, smiling as she put a half skip in her step.

"Looks like we're just across the way from each other!" Nora pointed out, jerking her thumb at the door on the opposite side.

"That's great! It'll be easy to practice together!" Ruby agreed, glancing at the door. "I should probably head inside...I've already made Weiss wait long enough."

"Go on ahead. We have to get our stuff and unpack anyway," Nora dismissed.

Ruby smiled and waved to the pair before turning to face her own door. With a deep breath, she reached out to seize the handle.

_Here we go_, she said to herself. _Time to prove myself._


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

"And there!"

Pyrrha gave a light bow as she finished stacking one bed atop the other, fusing their frames together with her Semblance. Ruby reached out her hand, feeling her Aura hum protectively from the residual heat of fusion. Even so, the metal was cooling rapidly, and it felt practically seamless.

"Wow, that's super cool!" Ruby exclaimed. "How'd you do that?"

"My Semblance is _siderokinesis_," Pyrrha explained. "I am unsure of what the word is in your language, but I can control things made of metal. I just pressed the beds together, and the pressure combined them."

"Super cool," Ruby repeated with a smile.

"That should handle the beds," Weiss said, barely glancing up from her Scroll, consulting her notes on the layout of the room. "Next is-"

Weiss was interrupted by a knock on the door. Ruby glanced at her teammates, wondering who it could be, before she saw Weiss briefly light up in realization. "Must be the last team member. Come in!"

The door opened, and a young man stepped in. "This team WARP?"

"You're in the right place," Weiss assured him, looking him up and down. "You must be Alabaster Mazarine."

"That's me," he agreed, and Ruby got her first look at their new teammate. The first thing that stuck out to her was his darker skin, which reminded her of some of the farmers back home who worked the field all day. But he looked smooth, not burnt. In contrast, his hair was almost a strangely light tone, reminding Ruby of pictures of sand she'd seen in her school books, though it was messy rather than smooth. He looked at them all with eyes of the same colour and a light, easy smile.

"Excellent. We were just organizing the room. Any preference for top or bottom bunk?"

"I don't want to step on anyone's toes," he said politely. "I'm fine with whatever."

"In that case, Ruby, do you have a preference?" Weiss asked, turning to her.

Ruby glanced at the beds, and back at Weiss, trying to see if there was something she was missing. Did Weiss want one or the other? She felt Weiss' gaze boring into her, and she hurriedly picked one.

"How about...top?"

Weiss raised an eyebrow, but didn't comment on her lack of certainty. "Fine by me. I'll take the bottom on that side then."

"I'll go with the bottom if that's alright by you," Pyrrha offered, turning to Alabaster.

"Sounds good," he agreed, shrugging off one of the straps of his backpack. "There a storage or something?"

"Closet's on that side," Weiss directed, pointing to the door on the left side of the room before pointing to the opposite door. "Bathroom's there."

"Thanks. Just going to put my stuff away." Alabaster went to the closet, and paused when he opened the door, likely just as surprised as Ruby had been when she'd first opened it. Calling it a closet was an understatement; it was more like a small room with the opposite walls composed of a pair of large wardrobes and shelves for them to store their stuff.

Alabaster laughed lightly, shaking his head. "If I don't come out in five minutes, send a rescue team. Someone could get lost in here."

Ruby snorted at the joke, and even Weiss cracked a smile. But Weiss quickly focused on the next task, her eyes already back on her Scroll. "Alright, next up: desks and bookshelves. Pyrrha, can your Semblance help us?"

Pyrrha extended her hand towards first one of the bookshelves, then to the desks, but nothing happened. Sadly, she shook her head. "They're mostly wood. Not enough metal for me to lift it without ripping out the screws."

"That's alright. We'll just do this the old fashioned way," Weiss said, taking a moment to roll up her sleeves. Ruby found the sight far too funny, and had to turn away to stop from laughing. Together they moved the desks into place. Weiss seemed surprised that Ruby could move a desk by herself; the other girl seemed to struggle. It wasn't that she was weak, but more that she was unaccustomed to hard labor.t wasn't long after that Alabaster emerged from the closet.

"Ah, moving furniture. Let me help," he offered, moving over to assist Pyrrha.

"After this bookshelf, why don't we put our stuff away?" Ruby suggested.

"Sounds good to me," Weiss agreed, and together they placed the bookshelf between the desks, perfectly filling the space between the front wall and the closet door. With their side of the room arranged, Ruby followed Weiss into the closet, grabbing her hastily tied together things on the way.

At a glance, it seemed like Alabaster had taken the farthest wardrobe on the right, while Weiss was opposite him. But looking at his wardrobe, she couldn't help but be surprised.

There was just...so little. A few sets of clothes, mostly loose shirts and slightly baggy pants, all in tans and browns, but very little aside from that. The only thing that really stuck out was what he'd mounted on the weapons rack: a pair of batons. Even without close inspection, Ruby could see the lengths were layered, and the screw near the base of the handle made her suspect they fanned out. War fans, if she was identifying them correctly. But she couldn't see any kind of trigger or ranged capability to speak of, which puzzled her.

But there'd be time to ask him later. She refocused on her own wardrobe. Dropping her own bag on the floor, she opened the top and began taking out her things. Clothes, pictures; everything she'd thought she'd need for Beacon. She had still exercised some restraint in what she brought, but as she placed her family photo front and center, she smiled. Just the kind of motivation she needed getting dressed every morning.

As she put Crescent Rose on the rack, she glanced over to see how Weiss was doing. She was silently removing items from her suitcases, laying them in careful rows and stacks in her wardrobe. What struck Ruby was just how uniform it all was, even disregarding the _actual_ uniforms they'd been issued. Almost all of Weiss' clothes were a pale white or faded blue. The only things that weren't were a couple of business suits she had for some reason, both of which were covered in some kind of transparent cover that she only ever saw at the dry cleaner's, and which Weiss hung carefully in the standing closet.

Ruby quickly directed her gaze back to her own stuff before Weiss caught her staring, and she rooted around in her pack when she felt her hand brush something made of paper. Immediately, she blushed profusely, peering into the bag to confirm her worst fears.

Staring back at her was a poster of Pyrrha. She'd _completely_ forgotten about packing that, and now the real thing was in the next room over. There was no way she was going to put that up where Pyrrha could see it.

"Everything alright, Ruby?" Weiss asked, surprising Ruby by how close she was. Ruby didn't have time to react, and she could see Weiss' eyes settle on the poster. Even curled up, it wasn't hard to tell what it was, especially with the name "Pyrrha" proudly emblazoned across the top.

Weiss' hand flew to her mouth, and she stifled a giggle. Ruby could feel her insides twist as she fought to urge to just curl up and disappear, but settled for drawing her hood up.

"No, no, it's okay," Weiss quickly assured her. "I won't say anything."

Ruby glanced at the poster, then at Weiss. "You promise?"

"Absolutely," Weiss nodded. "In any case, I'm finished with my unpacking. I recommend finishing before Pyrrha comes in."

Ruby nodded, quickly stashing the poster in the back of a drawer behind her clothes. Riding off her nervous energy, the rest of her unpacking went quickly, and she only paused to make sure her face wasn't red before she stepped out.

"All yours, Pyrrha," she said, hoping she didn't sound nervous.

"Thank you," Pyrrha said politely, passing her and Weiss. Desperately trying to get her mind off the poster, she turned to Alabaster, who was adjusting the sheets on his bed.

"Excuse me, uh, Alabaster?" Ruby prompted, and he turned to look at her. "I couldn't help but notice your weapons in there, and, well, I'm a bit of a weapons geek, so I was hoping I could ask about them, if it's not a problem that is-"

"Sure," he said with a smile, cutting her off. "What do you want to know?"

"So they look like batons, but I noticed that they could fan out. I assumed they doubled as war fans, but I wasn't sure."

"You have a good eye. They do indeed function as war fans."

"So...how do you fight at a distance? I didn't see any triggers or anything."

"There isn't one. I use my Semblance," Alabaster explained, lifting his hand. With a quick flick of his hand, he summoned a small whirlwind in his palm before letting it drift off into a light breeze. "Aerokinesis, or air control. The blades of the fans have small channels that allow me to better direct it."

"Makes sense," Ruby agreed. It was unorthodox, but surprisingly creative. Even so, she was curious how it all worked. "Guess I'll see them in action when we train."

"You're welcome to take a look later," Alabaster offered, and Ruby couldn't help but smile.

"Thanks, but I was thinking that I might go check on Jaune and Yang," Ruby said, glancing at Weiss for permission.

"I'm fine with it," Weiss confirmed, continuing to place books on her shelf.

"I'll be back in a few!"

* * *

_Well, at least they're settling in_, Jaune thought to himself with a smile.

In the short time since getting into their new room, his team had already started making it their home. In Nora and Ren's case, that had meant claiming one corner for themselves and putting their beds close together, with only a low bookshelf doubling as a nightstand between them. In Emerald's case, she'd hurriedly pushed everyone out of the bathroom once they were done putting away their stuff to claim the first shower for herself. Jaune didn't think any of them were that bad, but maybe Emerald had high hygiene standards. He made a note to try and keep on top of it himself.

What was stranger to him was the fact he was the only one with any significant amount of unpacking. Emerald had thrown a bag of what he presumed were her possessions into the closet before taking a spare outfit with her into the bathroom, and Ren and Nora had finished unpacking fairly quickly. A few sets of clothes between them, their tools, and some personal effects from the looks of things.

Turning to his own pack, he had gotten his clothes tucked away, leaving only his personal effects. And the first one that greeted him was the portrait of his family. Gently, he picked up the picture, feeling a pain of guilt as he looked at it. Staring at it reminded him of the situation he found himself in, but he knew he would have felt worse if he'd simply left it behind.

"Whatcha got there?" Nora inquired, making Jaune jump a little.

"Oh...just a family photo," he explained, setting it on the side table.

"Wow, you have a big family."

Jaune laughed to himself at that. He supposed it was true; very few people had eight children. He was more surprised Nora didn't comment on him being the only son. "Yeah. There's a lot of us. Made for some loud dinners!"

"I can imagine!" Nora chuckled in agreement before motioning for him to follow her. "Check this out!"

Nora dove under her bed, fishing around for something beneath before pulling out a thick book. As she opened it, Jaune realized it was a scrapbook, plastered with various pictures of her and Ren, as well as a few pictures of landscapes, buildings, and other things.

"Wow! Who took these?" Jaune asked, gently taking the offered book.

"I did!" Nora boasted proudly, jerking a thumb towards herself with a broad smile. "Been taking them for a long time!"

"This is impressive," he complimented, flipping a few pages. There were more pictures than he could count, all with a small hand-written blurb explaining what they were and when they were taken. It was surprisingly thorough. Even though he wasn't a shutterbug, he could tell the newer photos were better, and played around with focus and angle.

"Yep! One of the first things Ren and I got when we started travelling together. Took a bit of time to save up for the camera, though," Nora said, reaching out to turn to the beginning. Jaune was surprised to see some pictures drawn in what seemed like charcoal of various landscapes. "Back then, Ren used to use our campfires to draw pictures of things we'd seen."

Jaune wasn't sure what to say, but judging by the way Nora smiled at him, she likely knew how impressed he was. Gently, he handed it back to her. "Do you plan on keeping it going?"

"Hope so," Nora said, tucking it back under her bed. "A lot easier to get film here, that's for sure! Oh, speaking of, I should get a picture of the room!"

"Go ahead," Jaune laughed, watching as she grabbed her camera from under the bed. It seemed to be an older, bulkier model, but he didn't know enough to be able to say anything definitively. Besides, if her pictures were anything to go by, Nora could still do impressive work with them. As Nora amused herself setting up shots, he turned to Ren, who was watching her with a slight smile. "Those were some impressive drawings."

To his surprise, Ren actually laughed a little. "Thanks. They took a lot of effort."

"I can imagine," Jaune sympathized, recalling his sisters' art projects. He glanced at Nora before looking back at Ren. "She seems to be handling all of this well. How about you?"

"I'll admit, it's different," Ren said neutrally. "Not used to having my own bed, that's for sure."

"Didn't sleep at inns?"

Ren shook his head. "No, it was cheaper to camp outside of town. We were both used to it, anyway. Might need to adjust to a bed."

"Well, if you ever need a harder mattress, I'm sure the school can provide," Jaune joked. Once again, Ren surprised him by chuckling.

"I'll keep that in mind. I think it will be a nice change, though."

"Ahhh, that felt good," Emerald interrupted, exiting the bathroom with a long stretch. "Alright, it's open if anyone wants it."

"Oh, we should get a team picture!" Nora suggested.

"Wait, what?" Emerald asked, confused, before catching on to the suggestion. "Uh...not really a fan of pictures."

"Not even one?" Nora pleaded. "I promise I'll ask in the future."

Jaune glanced between them, wondering if it was his job to mediate, but the decision was taken from him as Emerald sighed. "I suppose _one_ won't hurt."

"Awesome! Everyone scoot in!" Nora commanded, grabbing Jaune's arm with a strength that seemed entirely unreasonable for her size. Ren seemed prepared and was already by Nora's other side before she could drag him. Emerald slunk in on the side, shifting questioningly towards Ren.

"You'll need to take this one," Nora said, passing off the camera to Jaune. "My arms aren't long enough to get us all in one frame."

"Alright. Sorry if it's not the greatest quality," Jaune apologized, but held the camera up, angling it the best he could.

"Smile everyone!" Nora cheered, and Jaune couldn't help but feel her infectious enthusiasm. With a click, the photo was taken, and he passed it back to Nora. "Sweet! I'll let you all know how it turns out once I develop it."

Jaune was about to respond when a gentle knock came at their door. "Jaune? It's Ruby. Can I come in?"

"Sure," Jaune invited.

Ruby had barely stepped in when Nora's camera clicked again, catching her off-guard, and she stopped in place, stunned.

"Great shot," Nora said to herself before turning to Ruby. "You mind if I keep that one?"

"Y-yeah, sure," Ruby said, catching up to events. "I don't look stupid do I?"

"Nah," Nora assured. "I just like candids. Thanks!"

"How are things over in your dorm?" Jaune asked, inviting Ruby to sit on the edge of his bed. She smiled in thanks as she plopped down at the foot.

"Pretty good. We were almost done, so I thought I'd check on you guys and then my sister. Seems like you're almost done, too," Ruby noted.

"Yeah. Turns out we didn't have much to unpack," Jaune said with an unsure laugh. "So...welcome to the room!"  
"I like what you've done with the place," Ruby chuckled.

"Really homey," Emerald commented, collapsing onto her bed with a tired sigh. "Gotta say though, comfy beds."

"_Super_ comfy," Nora agreed enthusiastically, and even Ren seemed to agree if his small smile was anything to go by. Jaune didn't think the beds were that soft; if anything, they were pretty average, but he supposed in Ren and Nora's case, it was better than a sleeping bag.

"Not a lot of floor space," Ruby commented, pacing the open path from the closet to the bathroom. "Glad we were able to stack the beds."

"You have _bunk beds_?" Nora asked, jealously.

"How'd you manage that?" Jaune asked, genuinely intrigued. He was already used to bunk beds back home, and they would be a lot more space efficient.

Ruby paused, seeming to mull it over for the moment before smiling, holding a finger to her lips. "Can't tell you right now. But maybe I can tell you later."

"Fair enough," Jaune smiled, sitting down on his bed. "Anything else we can do for you?"

Ruby shook her head. "No, thank you. I just wanted to see how you guys were doing, and see if you needed any help. I was actually going to go see my sister before dinner. Just in case she wanted to hang with her friends or something."

Jaune thought he saw a flash of disappointment on Ruby's face, but it was gone quickly, and he didn't want to push her on it. "Well, you're welcome any time! Door's open."

"Except when it's not," Emerald added sarcastically, the pillow muffling her voice. Even so, Jaune could see the edge of a smile poking out the top. "But that's what doors do."

Ruby glanced at Jaune, and upon seeing his smile, beamed one of her own. "Well, I'll get out of your hair. Same to you!"


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Blake was careful with her footing as she circled her opponent, sizing him up. He was clearly a heavier fighter than her, and his tall shield covered most of his side, while his lance gave him decent reach.

Imperial seemed content to sit and wait for her, likely wanting to judge her skills for himself. But she couldn't help but feel that she was getting baited into a trap. One she didn't intend to spring. Her twin machine pistols twitched up, and she began firing away with her training rounds.

Blake had to hand it to Imperial; he at least had fast reflexes. By the time she'd pulled the triggers, his shield was already up and ready to block. He smiled at her from behind the shield, one of his brown eyes exposed. She simply aimed one of her guns down at his feet. He would be forced to drop his shield to cover and then-

She barely managed to twist and leap out of the way as he suddenly closed the gap between them. He spun to face her before she had even touched down, interjecting his shield in the way.

"Good job!" Imperial complimented. "You have fast reflexes!"  
Blake was silent, inwardly seething at the fact that she'd let her confidence get the better of her. He clearly had some kind of speed-related Semblance, though how far he could go, and in what directions, were still unknowns.

"Go, Blake! Kick his ass!" Ilia cheered from the sidelines, sporting a broad grin.

_I intend to_. Blake didn't take her eyes off Imperial. For his chipper attitude, he at least took sparring seriously: a point in his favour. She hadn't been the most pleased when they were unpacking, but his suggestion to get to know one another through a sparring match was a great chance to vent her frustrations. _Assuming I focus_.

Blake continued to circle around the ring, noting that Imperial shifted to keep her in front of him. Inwardly, Blake wondered if he could only go forward, and decided to test it. Just as she set her foot down, she quickly leaped back, transitioning to a backflip that landed her off to his side. Springing forward, her blades flashed out, ready to strike his aura. But instead, she found air.

A miss.

She cartwheeled out of her charge, feeling the air where she would have landed narrowly whoosh passed her. Her feet found metal, and she kicked off Imperial to regain distance.

Once on her feet, she brought up her arms to block, but Imperial didn't press the advantage, continuing to simply watch her. Blake's eyes flicked behind him, where she could see the dust of the sparring field settling into place.

She hadn't seen his movement, but she could track where he'd been. He'd moved backwards away from her attack, then charged forwards to attack her once she'd overextended. So he could move forwards and backwards. Judging by the rigid way he'd jumped, that was probably the extent of his motion.

Which left her few options to take him down.

Once again, she fired at him, and he braced. When her muzzle dipped, he charged again. This time, Blake was ready. Taking a gamble, she only faded back slightly, and in a moment, her face was full of shield, but he hadn't extended. He'd predicted she'd dodge.

She could see his eyes widen even as she weaved around his shield, flicking her hand so that the ribbon of her gun wrapped around his back. Now he couldn't escape. Her other blade was quickly pressed to his neck, where his plate mail couldn't protect him.

"My victory," she said.

"I would say that is!" he said, smiling broadly, seemingly unconcerned with the blade next to his neck. Blake glowered for a moment, but backed off, only relaxing once he'd slung his lance on his back. He extended his hand towards her. "Good match."

"Likewise," she said after a moment, taking his hand firmly. The handshake was thankfully brief, and Imperial quickly ran it through his short brown hair with a sigh.

"Well, looks like I'll have to keep up my practice. But I do have to say, you're quite talented! You figured out my strategy quickly!"

"I have a lot of practice," Blake said simply, holstering her guns. She turned to look at Ilia, and jerked her head. "You want a round?"

"Sure! I could stand to unwind a bit!" Ilia said as she jumped up, then turned to look at their last member. "You wanna go?"

Sangria's crimson eyes quickly darted to Imperial, who quietly nodded, before she spoke. "Sure."

Blake followed Imperial off the sparring ring as their teammates took their place. Taking a seat on the bench, she watched as Imperial sat down on the far end. From within his armour, he withdrew a cloth, and began polishing his shield, wiping off the scuff marks and dust.

"So, you and Ilia are friends, from what I understand," he said laconically.

"Yep."

"That's good. I can understand that. Sangria and I worked together before we came here," he explained, glancing up at his companion.

Blake looked at the woman, trying to gauge her. Unlike Imperial, she had a quiet personality that Blake felt more comfortable with. Since they'd met in the dorm room, she hadn't said much that wasn't necessary.

Both her and Imperial were from Mistral, and worked together as militia before they came to Beacon. Lots of skirmishes with bandits and Grimm, both of which Blake could sympathize with. Imperial had apparently been some kind of local squad leader for his town, which is why he got landed with command.

Technically, Blake had enough command experience to probably rival with Imperial, but that was off the record. He was the natural choice for their team leader, even if she wasn't the happiest being under the command of a human. Still, she knew how to play her part.

"So, what's her story?" Blake asked, still sizing Sangria up. Unlike her partner, Sangria was lightly armoured, wearing camo-coloured leather armour. Her large, reinforced bow also contrasted their leader's. The only obvious thing they had in common was their military cut hair style, although Sangria had black to his brown.

"I'll let her fill in the details she likes, but she's been a member of the town guard for years. Ever since she came to town, really. Skilled archer and brawler."

The brawler comment caught Blake's attention, and that's when she noticed Sangria's gauntlets. She'd initially dismissed them, but now that she was paying attention, she could see the thicker leather around the fingers and knuckles. Not enough to inhibit archery, but enough to cushion her hands. The protective metal on the backs didn't hurt, either. At least, not her.

Blake was tempted to warn Ilia, but she also wanted to see how her teammate fared. Blake knew _precisely_ how good Ilia was, and her matchup would reveal a lot about Sangria.

"Alright, I'm good to go," Ilia said, rolling her neck as she flicked her foil. "You all set?"

Sangria simply nodded, holding her bow at her side. Outwardly, she looked relaxed, but Blake could see the subtle tension she held in her body. Then, it was like a silent bell had been rung.

Sangria's draw was impressively fast, but Ilia was able to deflect it with her foil. Even so, Blake could see the look of surprise on her face, and her grip tightened on the foil. The arrow clattered to the ground; the head was surprisingly blunted, and a lot heavier than usual.

Blake didn't have time to ruminate on it as Ilia began her counterattack. She surged forward, her foil extending with only the smallest motions of her wrist, allowing her to put pressure on Sangria even from a distance. To her credit, Sangria caught on quickly, backpedalling even as she fired again and again. Each shot slowed Ilia down as she had to either dodge or brace to turn the arrow aside, but she was advancing faster than Sangria could push her back.

In a flash the momentum turned, and Sangria was in Ilia's face, taking advantage of the opening created by one of her arrows. Ilia's head ducked to the side of Sangria's straight jab, her fist dangerously close.

Ilia was now on the defensive, and Sangria pushed forward with a series of hooks and jabs, her bow extending her reach as she swung the reinforced limbs. During one swing, Ilia raised her foil, bracing it with both hands before smiling. With a quick twist, her foil had wrapped around the bow, and she yanked to the side, opening Sangria's defense. Ilia leaned back under Sangria's counterpunch, bringing her leg up into her side.

But Sangria barely moved, even as her Aura tanked the blow, and she brought her elbow down on the Aura above Ilia's shoulder, driving her to her knees, before a knee to the face finished her off. Sangria jumped back, still in a brawling stance while Ilia rubbed her neck, groaning.

"Even with Aura that smarts!" Ilia hissed as her neck audibly popped. "Not fun!"

"Sorry," Sangria said quickly, dropping her stance, suddenly looking a lot less confident. "That wasn't very sporting."

"Eh, who cares," Ilia shrugged, accepting the offered hand. "Sporting doesn't matter. Just wasn't ready for it."

"You'll have more opportunities," Imperial assured her with his usual smile. "I feel like we'll be doing a lot more sparring in the future. Sangria, good job."

Sangria nodded, slinging her bow back over her shoulder. Ilia, meanwhile, strode over and plopped herself down in front of Blake, leaning her head back against her legs. Whatever Ilia said, Blake didn't pay attention to. She was processing the fight.

Something had been off, but she couldn't tell what. The blunted arrows were strange, but she wasn't sure if that was the academy or Sangria's choice. What bothered her was how quickly Ilia had gone down. Sangria had only hit Ilia's Aura, and while they were solid hits, it shouldn't have been enough to make her surrender.

"How are you feeling?" Blake asked, interrupting Ilia's tangent. Ilia paused, glancing up at Blake with a confused expression.

"I'm fine. You worried about me?" Ilia teased.

"You could have lasted longer," Blake said simply.

"What can I say? She hits like a truck. Don't know why she bothers with the bow," Ilia said with a shrug.

_Why indeed_, Blake wondered.

* * *

Ruby took a moment to straighten her cloak as she stood in front of team MYDS' room. At first, she'd been worried about missing them, since it seemed like everyone was finishing up with their rooms and heading out to do activities before dinner. But judging by the boisterous voices on the other side, that wasn't a concern.

_Maybe I should have left my hood behind_, Ruby wondered as she fidgeted with the hem of her dress. The more she thought about it, the more childish it made her seem. But if she went back to her room, she might miss her sister.

The decision was taken out of her hands as the door opened, and she found herself frozen to the spot as a tall, platinum blonde woman looked down at her with confusion. All Ruby could think was that she looked vaguely familiar.

"Hey, Yang, ain't this your sis?" the woman asked, half-stepping to the side as she turned, allowing Ruby to see into the room. Compared to both her and Jaune's teams, the room was _chaotic_. Somehow, they'd already managed to make their beds messy, and there were already all kinds of posters and personal effects everywhere.

"Hey, Ruby! Come in!" Yang invited, sitting up from where she was relaxing on her bed. Ruby did so, trying to swallow her nervousness, even as the room made her eyes wander all over, and the music from their radio played just a little too loud. Yang threw up her arms with a broad smile. "What do you think of the redecorating?"

"It's...vibrant," Ruby managed, trying to summon the words.

"I'd say that's what we were aiming for," a male voice said, and Ruby turned to see the familiar face of Yang's friend, Dandelion. She'd met him a couple of times when Yang's friends swung by the house to pick her up. He was a little loud, but he seemed nice enough. With his loose shirt and baggy brown pants, he looked right at home amongst the chaotic display.

"Hey, Ruby, nice to see ya!" Maize greeted, and Ruby felt her anxiety lessen slightly at her gentle smile. Of all Yang's friends, Maize was the one Ruby felt most comfortable around, if only because she shared an interest in weaponry, and both constantly smelled of Dust. At least in Maize's case, the smudges of dirt and grime could be hidden by her darker hair and skin. "Yang told us you'd be here. That's pretty cool."

"Yeah, it's cool," Ruby parroted.

"Oh, right, I don't think you've met Saffron," Yang realized, gesturing to the blonde who'd opened the door for her. Now that she wasn't panicking, Ruby could take her in better, and she wondered how she could have missed the tie dyed shirt. "She's actually from around her."

"Kind of the local guide of the group," Saffron chuckled, straddling one of the chairs. "Make sure these idiots don't get lost when they walk out the door."

"That was _one_ time," Dandelion protested, though he and everyone else laughed. Ruby just forced a smile, wondering what inside joke she was missing.

"So, what's up, sis?" Yang asked with a bright smile.

"Oh...just wanted to see how you guys were doing. See your room, you know?"

"Well, here it is," Yang chuckled, patting the bed. Ruby quickly moved to sit on the end, feeling a little bit more relaxed as everyone went back to...whatever it was they were doing before she showed up. "How's your room?"

"It's good," Ruby confirmed a little too quickly. "Weiss is great at organizing."

"I'd believe it," Yang snorted. "Just don't let her see this hot mess."

Ruby had to chuckle at that, partially because she was just relieved that Yang was actually acknowledging how messy it was. "If she did, she'd never let you visit."

"Good luck keeping me out!" Yang joked, lightly nudging Ruby's arm. "How about the rest of your team? Who'd you get?"

"Weiss is the leader, and we have Pyrrha too. Our last member's a guy named Alabaster. He seems nice enough."

"Oh my, a boy in my sister's room? How scandalous," Yang purred, and Ruby could feel her blush threatening to melt her face.

"W..what about you?" Ruby countered, glancing at Dandelion.

"Touché sister," Yang conceded with a shrug, falling back onto her bed. "How about that other kid? The one who was with you in the forest?"

"Jaune?"

"Yeah, the blonde dork."

Ruby snickered at the moniker. "He's got his own team too: JERN. Him and the other three that were with him."

"Cool. You guys all friends?"

"I...guess. I hadn't thought about it. We've only really known each other for a little over a day."

"Hell of a day. Still, it seems like you guys got on well. His team close to yours?"

"They're right across the hall."

"Even better!" Yang exclaimed. "You guys can hang out a bunch, then."

"Yeah, you're right," Ruby agreed, before nudging her sister. "You're welcome to hang out, too."

"Ha, don't worry. I will. Gotta keep me on the straight and narrow, you little teacher's pet you," Yang teased, wrapping an arm around Ruby. Ruby simply smiled to herself, enjoying the moment. She glanced around, and realized that the others seemed to be readying to go out.

"You guys headed somewhere?" she asked bluntly.

"Yeah, we were going to see the town before dinner," Dandelion confirmed.

"Classes are soon, so we thought we'd get it out of the way," Maize said with a sigh. "Once they start, there'll be no time."

"Oh...I should let you go then," Ruby said, jumping up from the edge of the bed. "I don't want to keep you."

"You sure?" Yang asked, glancing at her team. "We could-"

"Go have fun," Ruby insisted, smiling broadly. "You've been talking about hanging out with your friends for weeks!"

"If you say so," Yang agreed slowly. "But promise me you won't be a stranger?"

"Promise. Oh, speaking of, I was hoping I could drop something off later? See, with Pyrrha being my teammate and all…"

"Say nothing more," Yang said with a laugh. "You can leave your poster here. I'll take good care of it."

"Thanks!" Ruby said as she slipped out the door, leaving her sister to her evening plans. With a relieved sigh, she pulled out her Scroll, glancing at the time. She still some time left in the move-in block, but there was really nothing that needed to be done back at the room.

Instead, her mind turned to something else that had been on her mind, and she typed up a message to Weiss. _Mind if I go talk to one of the professors before dinner?_

To her surprise, Weiss responded almost immediately. _Fine by me. Let me know if it runs long_.

Tucking the Scroll away with a small smile, Ruby turned down the hall, following the exit signs before stepping out onto the campus. It took her a moment to figure out where she was, but it wasn't hard to spot the central spire, her destination. According to her dad, most of the professors had an office in the spire.

_Hopefully Professor Goodwitch is in_.

Ruby had heard her dad talk about a lot of the other professors, having been classmates with some of them, but she'd only met Goodwitch and Oobleck. Of the two, she felt like Goodwitch was more likely to be able to answer her questions.

As she walked towards the spire, she could see a few groups of students wandering around, likely either exploring the grounds or heading out to the town. But hardly anyone seemed headed in her direction.

Once she stepped into the building, she could immediately tell why. To call it uninviting was an understatement. The walls stretched up, towering over her at their peaks, with thin, high windows. Each step she took echoed through the empty hall, making her feel like she wasn't supposed to be there. _Is this an administration building or a prison?_

Still, she worked up the courage to head to the elevator, glancing at the directory before she did. Getting inside, she selected the floor for Professor Goodwitch, then took a moment to straighten herself up and breathe.

The elevator doors opened, and she stepped out, seeing the rows of doors, each with little name placards. Moving down the line, she glanced at the frosted windows, noting that most of them seemed empty, and was just beginning to doubt coming when she saw Professor Goodwitch's name, and the light on inside.

Tentatively, she knocked on the door, and was surprised when it opened only a moment later to show Professor Goodwitch sat at her desk. She had opened the door with her wand before she'd even finished looking up from the paper she was working on, and Ruby could see her expression rapidly shift from focused to questioning to a small smile.

"Hello, Ms. Rose. Come on in," she invited politely, moving one of the chairs in front of her desk with a light flick of her wand. Ruby nodded, taking the seat. "How may I help you?"

"Well...if it's not too much trouble, I wanted to ask about classes. We're supposed to pick them in the next few days and everything…"

"And you wanted to know which ones to take?" Goodwitch guessed, and Ruby nodded nervously. "I wasn't expecting students to come asking until tomorrow."

"If I'm being a bother I can-"

"It's quite alright," Goodwitch assured her quickly, holding up a hand to stop further protest. Ruby settled back into her seat as she continued. "I only meant to say that I was not expecting you. I am more than happy to help. The fact that you're taking initiative is admirable. Allow me a moment to look at your scores."

Ruby nodded as Goodwitch turned to her screen, adjusting her glasses. The room was silent for a minute, and Ruby rubbed her hands together, trying to swallow her nervousness.

"Here it is," Goodwitch said at last, leaning back slightly. "Compared to the rest of the students, your scores are below the average, but you're also two years younger, so to be in the same category at all is an achievement. The primary exception I'm seeing is your artificery scores, which are exemplary. Better than many entry students."

"I just like weapons," Ruby said lamely.

"I would say this says more than just 'like'. It appears you have a talent. Have you considered taking Artificery 201 instead of the introductory course?"

"I...hadn't thought about it. Wouldn't that be weird?"

"Ruby," Goodwitch said seriously, leaning forward to look at her over the edges of her glasses. "I would hate to think you would sabotage your education for such a reason. I think you have the potential to do well in the class."

"I...I-" Ruby stuttered. "I don't know...I'm already the girl who skipped two years. I don't know if I want to jump _another_ year in a class."

"I understand. I'll make the exception so you can select it if you like," Goodwitch promised. "You have time to make your decision, and I'll be in my office if you have questions."

"Thanks...so what about the other classes?"

"As a freshman, you have many required classes. First Year Orientation, which you'll have with me. Grimm Studies with Professor Port. History with Dr. Oobleck, whom I believe you already met. Other than that, you have a few options. I'd recommend Dust Studies 101 for certain," Goodwitch listed, her eyes scanning the screen. She seemed to mull a thought over for a moment. "For high achievers, I like to recommend the Civic Engagement course."

"What's that?" Ruby asked, tilting her head.

"It's a course aimed at getting young Huntsmen engaged with the community. The students regularly shadow or otherwise meet with various members of the community."

"That doesn't sound bad. What kind of people do you meet?"

"Everyone from police officers to store owners to everything in between," Goodwitch said with a smile. "It's one of my favourite classes."

Ruby didn't have to think about it long. If Professor Goodwitch recommended it so highly, it had to be good. "That sounds great. I think I'll try and fit it in my schedule."

"It's mostly student-led, so you can slot it anywhere," Goodwitch explained as she tapped her screen. "I've sent two versions of your schedule to your Scroll, one with Artificery 201, and one with 101. That should make your decision easier. Is there anything else I can help you with?"

"I think that actually answers everything. Thanks for the help!" Ruby smiled, bowing as she stood up. "I'll get out of your hair now."

"It's what I'm here for. Now go and enjoy. Class starts in a few days, and I don't want you slacking off," Goodwitch warned with a slight smile.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Ruby stared at the ceiling. It still hadn't sunk in that she was _here_.

She was in a dorm at Beacon. With a _team_.

For the umpteenth time, she pulled out her Scroll and opened her messages. Both her dad and her friends had sent her support, overflowing with praise. The schedules Professor Goodwitch had created were still waiting for her approval. Her uniforms were hanging in the closet, alongside all the clothes she normally wore.

And yet it still seemed like a dream.

Quietly, Ruby pinched herself, then exhaled when nothing changed. On the one hand, she was excited beyond words. Becoming a Huntress was all she ever wanted in life, and she was getting there _ahead_ of schedule. But on the other hand, it was terrifying, because if it was real, then so were her mistakes. Any slip up, any accident; it all would be real, and everyone would see it.

Taking a deep breath, she looked back at the messages her friends had sent her, when the indicator popped up with a new message. She was briefly confused about who would be sending her a message at this time until she saw who sent it. Uncle Qrow.

_Hey, kid, heard the good news. From your dad no less. You know it's big when he reaches out to me. He was talking up a storm about how proud he is of you. I'm sure you've heard it from him already, but it never hurts to hear it from someone else. And for what it's worth, I'm proud of you, too. Sorry I couldn't be there to see you guys off; work's got me busy. But next chance I get, I promise I'll come visit you both. Take you out to eat or something._

_Anyway, I know you're probably stressing out. You always were the worrier of you two. Well, don't. I heard you got the attention of Goodwitch AND Ozpin. That means more than you know. Some folks'll tell you that you don't belong, but they don't know what they're talking about. They don't know you._

_Here's some insider advice: get nice with your professors. Most of 'em are more than willing to offer advice and help if you need it. They want you to succeed. So if anything comes up, talk to them._

_In any case, that's all I got to say about all that. Let me know if Goodwitch gives you any grief._

_See you around, kid._

Ruby smiled to herself as she read the message. Qrow's presence was unpredictable at best, but he always seemed to know what to say. The feelings of anxiety washed away as she imagined getting to impress her uncle. He'd been the one to teach her to use a scythe, so, in a way, he was partially responsible for her getting into Beacon. She made a mental note to thank him when he visited.

But now she had a different problem: she had far too much energy to try and sleep.

Quietly, she slipped out of bed, taking care to land as softly as she could. She wasn't surprised to see Weiss was awake and reading a book. Weiss gave her a quiet nod in greeting before returning to her book. Pyrrha and Alabaster were fast asleep, though. Between being from different time zones and the initiation, she wasn't surprised they were tired.

Heading into the closet, Ruby retrieved one of her uniforms, inspecting the design. A white shirt under a brown jacket and tan vest, with a plaid skirt below. It wasn't actually too different from her own clothes, outside of its colouration and maybe a bit more professional looking. At least she could wear her long leggings with it.

Taking it with her into the bathroom, Ruby took a quick shower before changing out of her PJ's. The team had already taken much more intensive showers the previous night, so she was mainly concerned with looking presentable for the day. A quick dry later, and she put on her uniform. It wasn't the first time she'd worn it, since she'd tried it on back at home to make sure it fit, but putting it on for the first time at school was a different matter.

Stepping out of the bathroom, she paused as Weiss looked at her, and she gave a small twirl. To Ruby's surprise, Weiss set down her book and walked over to her, inspecting her outfit up and down, and cocking an eyebrow in a silent question. Ruby nodded, and Weiss made a couple of small adjustments to her uniform: a straightening of the lapels, a slight twist of the skirt, a tightening of the bow. With a smile, Weiss stepped back, clearly satisfied.

_Much better_, she mouthed before returning to her bed. She was about to pick up her book when she realized Ruby hadn't moved, and she quietly motioned for Ruby to carry on. Snapping out of it, she hurried quickly out of the room, silently closing the door behind her.

Once in the hall, Ruby meandered down towards the stairwell, smiling to herself as she saw the traces of mud and dirt that had escaped the janitors. Still, she was surprised to see that it had been cleaned as thoroughly as it was, especially since the students got into the dorms so late.

The first year dorms were on the fourth floor, like they were in most academies. In the past, the idea was that if anyone attacked the dorm, they'd immediately run into the older, and more experienced students, buying time for the less experienced students on the upper floors to get to safety. Nowadays, though, it was more tradition than anything else. Being on the bottom floor meant you didn't have to climb the stairs after long hours of training, a definite benefit of seniority.

Heading down to the bottom floor, she turned out one of the doorways in the landing, stepping into a small courtyard. The dorms were shaped like a square with a hollow center, with the courtyard taking up that hollow space. The courtyard was slightly tiered, with a pair of paths bisecting it, meeting to form a ring around a fountain. The central ring was edged with marble steps that doubled as a seating area, the tops meeting the raised green space that took up the four quarters.

According to her dad, it was a common student hangout location, and it wasn't hard to see why. Despite the towering walls of the dorms around it, it was still bright, even with the sun barely up. Taking a seat on the steps, she looked up at the dorms, idly wondering who else was part of their year.

She chuckled to herself, recalling what her dad had told her about room assignments. Getting assigned to the inside of the dorms was generally considered bad luck, since all you got as a view of the courtyard, and your neighbours across the way. In contrast, getting the outside rooms was good luck, especially if you got the south or east sides, which faced the town and the Forever Fall, respectively. The north side faced the combat hall (which sadly couldn't be watched from the outside), and the west faced the rest of the campus, which was where her room was.

Glancing over her shoulder, she looked up at the fourth floor, trying to figure out which room was team JERN's. Right now, all the windows looked the same, but as the year went on, they took on a life of their own, with decorations and plants and all other manner of personal touches sprucing them up.

_Maybe we should get something for our window_, Ruby thought. _Not to mention, get some last-minute supplies. _She'd forgotten her favorite shampoo... It would be a good first team trip, and would be an excuse to get into town. Leaning back, Ruby stared up at the clouds above. Just as she was getting comfortable, the barest hint of a pleasant smell drifted past her. It took her a second to realize it wasn't the flowers, but something warm. It smelled a bit like...ham?

As the realization hit her, so did the hunger, and the growl of her stomach. Closing her eyes, she tried to remember the map of the campus she'd memorized. If her memory was right, the school's dining hall was just west of the dorms. She wasn't entirely sure if it would be open yet, but it was better than just waiting around.

Passing back through the doors, she paused in front of the hallway to the fourth year students' dorms. The hall looked completely untouched, which made sense considering that the upper years wouldn't be at the school for a few days, at least officially. Still, it felt a little eerie to have so much extra space being unused.

Once she exited out the west doors, the scent was much stronger. Ahead of her, she could see the vaulted windows of the cafeteria, and a small plume of steam rising from one of the open skylights. Strolling up to the doors, she found them unlocked.

As soon as she stepped in, the air was immediately warmer, and she realized just how comparatively cold it was outside. Even with it being early fall, the mornings could get chilly. The days didn't shorten too much even by mid-winter, but it regularly got cold enough to snow. She doubted Weiss would be bothered much, but Alabaster was in for a shock.

Ruby was surprised to see she wasn't the first one in the hall, as a few other students were sitting down, eating breakfast. Most of them sat alone, likely the only members of their team awake at the moment. It was a little relaxing to not be the first one in line.

The selection of food was quite impressive though, with just about anything she could want, all carefully stored so that it would stay warm and fresh for as long as possible. Even just looking at it made her already great hunger grow, and she helped herself to a bit of whatever caught her eye.

Ruby was just about to sit down when the doors opened and Nora and Ren walked in, talking to themselves. The second Nora saw Ruby, a grin split her face and she bounded over.

"Morning, Ruby! How are you?" she asked excitedly, startling Ruby with how much energy she displayed.

"I'm good," Ruby replied stiltedly. "I didn't expect you to be up."

"Ren and I are used to travelling. A little time zone difference never kept us down," she laughed, lightly elbowing Ren, who simply nodded his agreement. Nora's attention quickly settled on the food offerings, and in a way Ruby didn't think was possible, her smile grew. "Oooh, looks good. Mind getting us a table, Ruby? We'll join you in a second."

Ruby didn't even have time to respond before Nora was off. Questioningly, she turned to look at Ren, who shrugged apologetically. "I'll make it up to you later."

"Oh, there's no need," Ruby quickly insisted. "As soon as I saw you guys, I thought we could eat together."

"You might regret that soon," Ren said with a cryptic smile, wandering off to join Nora. Thoroughly confused, Ruby grabbed on the empty tables, trying to drown her confusion in maple syrup.

Nora and Ren joined her shortly, the former carrying two _loaded_ plates, while the latter had a much more reasonable plate, and a couple of cups that emanated a faintly herbal scent.

"Rub a dub dub, thanks for the grub," Nora said heartily before starting to lay into her food. Ruby was beginning to understand what Ren had been warning her about, seeing the sheer rate of consumption Nora possessed. She spared a glance at Ren, who was eating slower, but still faster than her.

"How was your guys' night?" Ruby asked awkwardly, wondering if she should be talking while they ate.

"Best night of sleep I ever had," Nora smiled. "Head hit the pillow and I was out like a light."

"Certainly some of the nicest beds we've slept on," Ren added, taking a sip of his drink. He caught Ruby's questioning gaze, and tilted the cup so she could see the slightly amber drink. "Just some tea."

"You a big tea drinker?" Ruby asked. Her dad was big into tea for some reason, but she never got the appeal. It wasn't sweet enough without adding a lot of sugar, and then it felt weird to drink. She was more of a cocoa drinker.

"We both are," Nora answered, catching Ruby off-guard as she raised the other cup Ren had brought, taking a surprising dainty sip. "Great alternative to plain water when you're on the road. Boiling kills anything in the water, and it can mask the taste of the local water. Not to mention the health benefits."

"Huh," Ruby said simply, not expecting such a comprehensive answer. For a minute, they ate in relative silence, and Ruby cast her gaze around the dining hall once more, taking the other residents in more detail.

From the looks of things, most of the people who were awake seemed like they were from around Vale, if their appearance was anything to go by. Some hadn't bothered to change into their uniforms. If she had to guess, at least some of them were probably like her and used to waking up early for chores and the like.

Though judging by the exhausted looks on some faces and the faint smell of coffee, not everyone was in that camp. Ruby had to hold back a chuckle at one particularly miserable looking student who was face down on the table and only lifted their head to take deep swigs of coffee.

"Wonder when the others will wake up," Ruby wondered aloud.

"I'm not sure," Ren commented. "It will likely take time for everyone's sleep schedules to adjust."

"It's gotta suck for some people," Nora agreed, looking genuinely sympathetic. She turned back to Ruby. "I'm surprised you were awake, to be honest."

"I lived out in the countryside. Lots of chores to do in the morning, like cutting wood and the like."

"Ah, one of those types," Nora said knowingly, turning to Ren. "They used to smile at us as we passed by in the morning. Often paid well for help."

"That they did," Ren agreed with a smile, before lifting his cup in a small toast. "As a stand-in for them, we thank you for your help."

"But I didn't-"

"Shhh, let him have the moment," Nora hushed aggressively, though she was still smiling.

Ruby shrugged, deciding to give up on fighting it. Instead, she decided to change the topic. "So what are you guys planning for the day?"

"Class selection and advisement starts today, so we will probably start considering that," Ren mused. "Other than that, I don't believe anything was set in stone."

"I wanna fight!" Nora proclaimed. "I saw the combat arena on the way into the dorms, and I think it would be great to bash some heads."

"She's not serious about the bashing heads bit," Ren said quickly.

"Are they having fights already?" Ruby asked. If there was going to be sparring matches, it could be a great chance to see some weapons and armour in use, and that was a very tempting option.

"Don't know," Nora admitted with a stretch. "But I'll find out as soon as the day starts."

"How about yourself?" Ren inquired.

"Well...I was hoping to go into town with my team to get some room decorations. Really personalize it, you know?"

"Ooh, that's a good idea," Nora agreed. "Besides, we need to get some stuff to wash your cloak out. Might not be a bad idea to get some decorations of our own too. What do you think Ren?"

"Definitely not a bad idea," he agreed. "Though we wouldn't want to trespass on time with your team."

"Oh, I'm sure it would be fine," Ruby said quickly with a smile. "The more the merrier!"

"Well, then in that case, if you do plan a time, let us know, and we'll see if we can coax our group to come along."

"Sounds like a plan," Ruby agreed, checking her Scroll. "We should probably go get our teams though. Don't want them to miss breakfast."

"Agreed."


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Jaune smiled to himself as he walked back to the dorm with the others. When Ruby had proposed the idea of going into town to pick up some decorations for their rooms, most everyone had been excited about the idea. A few hours later, and they were all carrying at least a few items a piece. He had gotten some new curtains to match the room's color scheme, as well as a small wall calendar. If he was going to be the team leader, he'd need to keep track of deadlines and events.

But as they approached the dorms, he could feel the good mood dying down as everyone's minds turned to what lay ahead. Along with today, the next two days were for student advising and scheduling. As the team leader, he'd been sent some extra emails about everything that needed to be done.

Ren and Nora (and he presumed Pyrrha, Weiss, and Alabaster) would all be attending a special event later in the afternoon orienting the international students. According to the email, it was mostly about making sure everyone was prepared not only for their time at the Huntsman Academy, but also for being in a foreign nation. Some special information would be presented, relating to contact numbers and expectations and so forth. He made sure to at least note some of it down, even if a lot of the acronyms meant nothing to him. He could always ask them later.

What surprised him most was how Ruby's mood seemed to fade. She'd mentioned she had already laid out her classes, but she'd looked at her Scroll and seemed to deflate, if only for a moment. Since then, she'd been a bit quieter, but he wasn't sure how to ask her what was going on with everyone around.

"Hey, Weiss, did you get the email about the international orientation?" he asked after an idea came to him.

"I did," she confirmed. "Everyone on my team, with the exception of Ruby, is expected to report there this afternoon. I take it that Ren and Nora will be joining us?"

"You betcha!" Nora chimed in, leaning around the stack of towels she was carrying. Jaune laughed at the sight. Once she had gotten her hands on a fluffy towel, she had demanded they purchase at least one for everyone, and then volunteered to carry them. For safety, of course.

"In that case, why don't you hang out with Emerald and me when they go off?" Jaune offered, glancing at Ruby, who perked up once she realized she was being spoken to.

"Sure, that sounds good," she agreed with a smile.

"Cool. Sounds like a plan," he said, smiling reassuringly before shifting gears. "So...anyone have any ideas about schedules?"

He heard a few of the others groan tiredly.

"Teams take orientation together, I know that much," Ruby offered. "My dad says that's how it's worked for years. Other than that, it just depends on the students."

"From what I read, it's generally encouraged to take a broad base in your first year," Weiss added. "They want you to have experience with every aspect of being a Huntsman before you start specializing."

"Then it sounds like we'll have a number of similar classes," Ren noted. "We're probably going to share at least a few, given how many of us there are."

"But wait...how would they handle people with different classes?" Ruby asked, looking nervous for some reason.

"I can explain that," Weiss offered. "I've been cleared to go directly to Dust Studies 201, which is generally aimed at second year students. When I inquired about it, they explained they try to keep teams together as much as they can, but they also recognize that students aren't often on the same skill level as each other. The schedule tries to keep them in the same classes when they can, and adapts otherwise. It's not uncommon for each year to find teams have fewer and fewer classes together as they specialize."

"Kind of runs against the whole 'team' idea," Emerald said sarcastically.

"It kinda does," Jaune agreed, mulling it over. "At the same time, I get why. When you start out, you're all new, but as time goes on, you learn what you like studying. And that gap only increases with time."

"Exactly," Weiss nodded. "Everyone needs to know how to sharpen their own blade. Not everyone needs to know how to work an armour forge."

"Is there an opposite of dibs? Because I don't want to be an armourer," Emerald said quickly with a small laugh.

"I'll probably end up doing that role," Nora said. "On the road, I was the one doing most of the equipment maintenance."

"Well, if you need help, I might be able to pitch in," Ruby offered. A thought seemed to linger on her tongue, and she almost looked like she was forcing herself to speak. "Hey...just getting an opinion here but...technically, I could take Artifice 201. What do you guys think?"

"You got the exception to take it?" Alabaster inquired with light surprise, and Ruby nodded. "I'd say take it. If you've qualified for that, I suspect 101 would just be stuff you already know."

"It just feels...weird," Ruby said with a shrug.

"Why would it feel weird?" he asked gently.

"Because I'm two years younger than everyone in my grade, and would be taking a class with people _three_ years older than me?" Ruby supplied with an uncertain laugh.

"Wait, _two_ years?" Alabaster asked, looking at her in surprise, and Jaune realized that he hadn't been there when they'd met Yang.

"Yeah. I got moved ahead two years. I'm going here with my older sister, Yang," Ruby explained, playing with the hem of her uniform.

"In that case, I'm doubling down," Alabaster said, catching her, and the rest of them, by surprise. "If you got moved ahead two years _and _got permission to take the upper level class, I say do it! Clearly you've got talent."

"I would agree with Alabaster," Weiss added. "I would lose my mind if I was forced to take Dust 101."

"T-Thanks," Ruby muttered, drifting off into her own thoughts.

"So, what about other people?" Jaune asked quickly.

For the next few minutes, they exchanged thoughts and plans, and Jaune noticed that most of them had the same ideas. Artificery 101, Dust 101, Grimm Studies 101, Freshman Year Seminar, and History 101. He and Weiss also shared a Leadership class together since it was a mandatory course for team leaders. From there, though, there was a lot of uncertainty, either from not knowing what classes were offered or not knowing which to take. He supposed that was what the three days of advising were for.

Too soon though, they were back to their rooms, putting up their new decorations. The first thing Jaune marked on his calendar was the end of advising, smiling at the note with satisfaction, while Nora somehow roped Emerald into helping spiff up the bathroom. Something he noted that she didn't fight too hard on. While the girls worked, Ren assisted him in putting up the new curtains.

"They look much better," Ren complimented.

"Thanks. Blame my sisters," Jaune laughed.

"You have family?"

"Seven sisters." Jaune was about to ask in kind, but hesitated. Ren simply smiled sadly.

"My family is deceased," he explained simply, glancing in the direction of the bathroom. "And I assume Nora's is as well. She was alone when I met her in my village."

"That had to be hard," Jaune sympathized.

"It was, but it was also a long time ago," Ren shrugged. "Not much use dwelling on it."

Jaune was thankfully rescued from having to find a reply by the door opening and the girls rejoining them, and the thought was dropped.

* * *

"So, anyway, that's the story of the time I wore a dress."

Ruby couldn't help but laugh as Jaune finished his tale. Even Emerald was laughing loudly as Jaune sat back with a satisfied smile. Already, Ruby was feeling much better about coming over. Even though everyone else had gone to the orientation, things had been lively.

"Makes me think of how my dad reacted when Yang started getting into make-up and stuff," Ruby recalled with a small laugh. "He panicked pretty hard. It was one of the few times he asked my Uncle Qrow for help."

"I can only imagine how that went. Two adult men trying to help a little girl with makeup," Emerald noted dryly.

"About as well as you'd expect. With a lot of smeared red lines that took some time to get out of the carpet, and a very satisfied Yang."

"Speaking of, how's your sister doing?" Jaune asked politely, and Ruby felt her smile twist slightly.

"She only got up a little while ago. Apparently, they went a little hard last night."

"Wait, was that the message you got earlier?"

Ruby nodded. "That's the reason we didn't see her at breakfast or on the trip to town."

"Just what were they doing last night?" Emerald asked with a hint of a bemused smile.

"Beats me. Yang doesn't really talk about what she does when she hangs out with her friends. I just figured they went to clubs and hung out."

"Hung out?" Emerald asked with open disbelief. "People don't go to clubs to 'hang out'. They go to get drunk and hook up."

"Wait, really?" Ruby asked in surprise, earning a flat stare from Emerald.

"What did you _think_ people did at clubs?"

"Uh...danced and drank those drinks with the little umbrellas?"

Both Ruby and Jaune were surprised as Emerald began laughing so hard that she fell back on her bed clutching her sides. "Oh man, I need to get you into a club some time!"

"Have you been to one?" Jaune asked curiously.

"Once or twice," Emerald answered honestly, brushing away tears. "They pay well, and have a use for a lot of skills."

"Aren't you too young to be working at a club?"

"Yeah, but I never did anything that would really get me in trouble. Never handled drinks, and certainly _never_ worked any kind of entertainment. I did a bit of security work," she explained, leaning back.

Ruby had to admit she was surprised to hear Emerald's explanation, but it made sense. Even if she didn't approve of the dubious nature, it was tamer than the time she found Yang after the latter had punched her way through a nightclub. At the time, she'd just assumed that someone else had started it, but she wasn't sure any more. Still, there was something that stuck out to her.

"Was there a specific reason you worked at clubs?" Ruby asked.

"I told you, they paid well," Emerald repeated

"No, I mean, why did you need the money?"  
"Oh," was all Emerald said before glancing away, her lips narrowing tightly.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"I grew up on the street. Had to look out for myself. That's why," Emerald explained quickly, following it up with a half-hearted shrug. Ruby bit her lip as she processed the information.

"Why'd you decide to come to Beacon?" she asked, changing topics.

"Beacon is the place to be for people like me," Emerald smiled. "Huntsmen have it good. They're never without work, and are independent. Being an official Huntsman opens up a whole new world for you. It just made sense."

Emerald narrowed her eyes, looking the both of them over, then pointed to Jaune. "Let me guess...family legacy?"

Jaune startled. "Wha-How did you-?"

"With a family that large, I figured it was good odds," Emerald smiled mischievously before turning to Ruby. "And you _have_ to be personal drive."

Ruby laughed embarrassedly. "Got me there…"

"I got good at reading people. It's a great party trick." Emerald winked before laying back on the bed. "Still, weird being here."

"You can say that again," Ruby agreed with a sigh, pulling her knees up to her chest. "And I still need to pick a few of my classes. It's hard to believe school is starting in only a few days."

"You still got it easier than leader-boy here," Emerald added, jerking her head in Jaune's direction.

"Got me there," Jaune admitted. "I still have to figure out my own schedule, but I've also got all this stuff for my teammates, too. I imagine it's the same for Weiss."

"Well, you guys could always go talk with Professor Goodwitch. She was very helpful," Ruby suggested. "If you message her, I'm sure she'd meet with you."

"Might not be a bad idea," Jaune mused aloud. "I'll definitely ask about it. How about you Emerald?"

"Sure. Sign me up," she said, flashing a thumbs up, though given she was on her back, it ended up upside down.

"Cool. I'll check with Nora and Ren when they get back," Jaune added as he typed. "Wonder how the orientation is going?"

* * *

"Come on guys, we have to head back!"

Blake cringed away as an orange-haired girl in the crowd shouted to some other members of the group. The only ones she recognized were the Schnee heiress and the Mistrali champion. Probably all in the same circle, if she had to hazard a guess, and off to go do whatever it was they did in their rooms.

Blake had other plans. She'd already gotten "permission" from Imperial to break off after the orientation and take Ilia with her, ostensibly to go get her class advice and also just tour around a bit, seeing as she was new to town. He'd been more than happy to hear she was taking the initiative with her classes.

"Man, look at all these cute little shops," Ilia enthused beside her, eyes flicking between windows. "Anything catching your eye?"

"No," Blake answered flatly.

"Aw, come on. I thought an international student like you would take at least _some_ interest in the local shops," Ilia half-joked, half-reminded, and Blake had to suppress an irritated groan.

"Fine. What looks good to you?" she asked, stopping with her hands on her hips.

"I mean, there's a few nice places to eat. Maybe we could come here some afternoon and have a little meal. Just the two of us? I even saw a sushi place earlier."

Blake had to admit it was a little tempting. She doubted it would match up to what she was used to at Menagerie, but even a little taste of home might be nice. "We can go there some other time. We're here to look for books."

"_Fiiiine_. You're such a killjoy," Ilia sighed, falling into step beside Blake as she guided the way. Blake didn't know too much about the city's layout yet, but she'd been given basic instructions. Leave through the north gate of Beacon, go up two blocks, then left twelve, and the book store was on the left. Far enough to not be right under the shadow of the academy, but close enough to be within walking distance.

When she first saw it, she realized just how perfect it was. _Tukson's Book Trade_, a somewhat fancy looking shop with a dark brown wooden facade, large windows, and a dark green backplate for the sign, which itself was written in golden letters. It managed to stride the border between being high class enough to deter casual interest, while not being fancy enough to be exclusive.

Their arrival was heralded by the jingling of the door bell, and the owner, a large man with dark hair, looked up at them with a smile. "Welcome to Tukson's Book Trade. Home to every book under the sun. How can I help you?"

"We're students at Beacon," Blake informed him. "I believe we have an order waiting here."

"Of course. Can I see proof of ID?" he asked, leaning against the counter. Blake and Ilia pulled out their Scrolls, pulling up their student ID's. For a moment, his eyes widened in recognition, and his smile curled slightly. "Ah, of course, I remember those orders. Hold tight."

Tukson disappeared into the back, leaving the pair in the lobby. From the corners of her eyes, Blake inspected the premises. The shelves were positively packed with books, and the tables only carried more. Despite the sheer density, it seemed very organized, with labels and divisions to separate it.

"Oooh, look Blake, they have _Violet's Garden_ in hardback!"

Blake turned to look at Ilia perusing the pages of a book with a smile. "He did say every book under the sun."

"Yeah, but that's just a motto," Ilia chuckled, ignoring Blake's flat tone. "I might have to come back for this one."

"I hope you mean to buy it," Blake said, narrowing her eyes commandingly.

"Duh. I'm not going to five-finger discount a friend."

Further conversation was cut off by Tukson returning, carrying two boxes in his hands. Carefully, he set them on the table, dusting his hands. "Alrighty, ladies. Here are your deliveries. Paid for in advance, so they're yours to take."

"I assume these include the specialty texts," Blake inquired, just to be sure. The weighting of the book stack was a little off, but she had to make sure the mask was delivered.

"Of course. And a word of advice: make sure to read the history book. I hear that class is tough," Tukson advised. "Anything else?"

"Mind putting a copy of this aside for me? I wanna come back and get one," Ilia inquired, lifting the book in question.

"Sure can do. Nice to see an interest in books," he chuckled.

"That will be all for us today. Thank you for your help."

"Thank you for your business! Let me know if you need any more books," Tukson returned, waving in a friendly manner as they left. Blake gave him a rare smile before closing the door behind her.

The whole way back, Ilia chattered at her, but Blake's mind was elsewhere. Now that their package was delivered, she could really start with her mission. After all, all that you needed to be in the White Fang was a mask.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Sitting down in the stands, all Jaune needed now was a bag of popcorn and it would be like an average Sunday night back home watching professional Huntsmen spars. Though instead of seven sisters crowded on a couch, he had seven classmates in the stadium seating.

Even though they'd arrived early, the place was still packed. Then again, that wasn't too surprising. It was the first day the practice arena was open, and it was a combat school, as well as a way to not think about the imminent classes.

Compared to some of the professional Huntsmen matches he'd seen, the fights weren't anything too special. Professional Huntsmen had trained for years, and their styles were very set and drilled. Watching two professionals spar was about seeing who had the slightest bit of extra stamina or precision. Victories by margins.

The fights they'd seen here weren't anything like that. It was clear that while everyone was trained, there was still room for learning. Styles matched up unexpectedly, and while the spars were a slugging match, they were somehow still entertaining. He could almost see the gears turning in the fighters' heads as they tried to adapt on the fly, pushed out of their comfort zone by an unexpected enemy. An excitement buzzed in the air that he hadn't expected.

"BREAK HIS LEGS!" Nora roared in his ear. He hadn't been the only one getting excited about the matches. Nora had been raring to go right from the start, screaming encouragements that bordered on worrisome, and Ren had to occasionally reign her in. And although Emerald seemed to be trying to be impassive about it, he still caught her smirking, or lightly fist pumping on a solid hit or a knockout.

When he'd glanced back at team WARP behind him, it seemed they were into it as well. Ruby was positively riveted to the arena, bouncing excitedly as her eyes followed the fighters and her hands twitched eagerly. Pyrrha seemed jittery when they first walked in, but seemed to settle down once she joined her teammates. She was watching with a light smile, and polite claps for victories. Alabaster was almost as bad as Nora, and seemed to take some enjoyment from working her up, and even Weiss seemed to be enjoying herself, even if her main focus was on recording the fights with her Scroll. _To each their own_, he thought.

But as the most recent fight closed, he couldn't help but feel a rising sense of anxiety. Ren and Nora's match would be the one after next, and it would be an important one. He'd heard from his parents how much the first match a team participated in was important. While only half of JERN were fighting, it still set expectations of the team in the eyes of the student body. They could always be refuted later, but there was only one first impression.

"So...how're you guys feeling about the match?" Jaune asked. The details of their opponents had been sent to them earlier that morning, and he could only assume the other team had received them too.

Nora and Ren would be fighting in the first duos round against two members of team TALC; Tundra, their leader, and Crimson. Even now he could see the pair sitting with their team on the opposite side of the stadium with their team. The two couldn't be more visibly different if they tried. While Tundra was pale, Crimson was tanned. Tundra had visibly muscular arms and stared at the fight unwaveringly, while Crimson was more lithe and glanced around as she bounced a knee.

"Feeling pretty good," Nora said happily. "Ren and I talked tactics when we got the news."

"We're thinking of engaging in position one," Ren explained.

"Position one?" Emerald interrupted.

"Position one is based around a very common pairing: one melee, one ranged. The melee fighters would contend with each other, and their ranged partners would support. There are all kinds of positions based on different team combinations. And of course, freestyle fighting."

Emerald rubbed her forehead. "Seems like a whole lot of work to memorize them. Not to mention, pointless. No one's going to let you square up in a real fight."

"Spars weren't meant to mimic real fights," Nora added. "They were only really a _thing_ after the big cities started cropping up a couple centuries ago. Not having to worry about being killed by Grimm every day meant that you could _afford_ to actually have a fight just for entertainment's sake. It was kind of a status thing to be able to engage in an honourable duel, and it grew from there."

Emerald seemed to consider it quietly, leaning back in her seat. "I guess I can see that...I don't quite agree with it, though. How do you win?"

"Each participant is expected to fight until their Aura drops below a threshold," Pyrrha explained, gesturing to the overhead screens. "Cameras around the arena measure their Aura levels. If it drops below the level where a major hit could be absorbed, then they're no longer part of the fight.

"Any idea how you'll break through Tundra's defense?" Jaune asked, shuddering at the images he'd seen. Tundra's main arsenal was a hand-axe and a spiked shield.

"Her targe is meant to control close quarters fighting," Nora observed. The spikes allow her to control a lock against everything shy of the heaviest two handed weapons."

"So we're not going to get that close," Ren chimed in. "Tundra's skill lies in close combat, not distance. So we don't let her engage at her preferred range."

"What about her partner? She's got fencing training," Jaune reminded them. Formal styles were rare among Huntsmen. The diversity of Semblances and cobbled weapons meant that there were too many combinations for teachers to instruct on each one. Instead, most teachers focused on the broad strokes of fighting rather than specifics, leaving the students to fill in the techniques with their own ideas. Fencing was one of the more common formal styles, and did particularly well in spars. With a focus on parrying and riposting, fencers were able to nullify and punish a lot of their foe's attacks.

"She's green behind the ears," Emerald noted, squinting as she stared at the pair. "Nervous. I don't think this was her idea."

"What makes you say that?" Jaune asked.

"Look at them," Emerald said, jerking her chin at them. "Tundra's sitting there watching the fights with confidence. Crimson's looking anywhere _but_ the fight. She's psyching herself up."

"I would agree with that," Ren commented. That was apparently good enough for Nora, who just nodded and went back to checking her equipment. Jaune stepped towards the field, leaning against the railing as he looked over at the other team.

It was strange to him just how much information was there if you knew what you were looking for. Things he couldn't always see. He supposed part of being a leader was listening to your teammates about that kind of stuff, but at the same time, he couldn't help but want to be able to do it as well. After all, weren't leaders supposed to be able to do that kind of stuff, too? All the leaders he heard about were incredibly smart and knew just about everything.

He was startled out of his thoughts as the students cheered, and he realized belatedly the round had ended. Which meant it was also time for Nora and Ren to head down and start prepping for their round.

"Wish us luck, Cap!" Nora said as she stood up with a quick salute. She didn't even wait for him to respond before skipping down the stairs.

"Good luck," Jaune waved, and the others echoed the sentiment.

"Thank you. We'll come back once we're done," Ren acknowledged, headed down towards the pit. In the meanwhile, the next round started, and he began to tune it out as he withdrew into his thoughts.

"So, anyone have bets?" Emerald piped up, half turning to glance at the rest.

Jaune was surprised when Ruby responded. "Nora and Ren for sure."

"Didn't take you for the betting type," Emerald said, one eyebrow quirked in surprise.

"Yang and I bet on fights all the time. She used to beat me a lot when we were young, but these days it's pretty close."

"So that's one for the pair. Any more?"

"I couldn't imagine betting against friends. I'm choosing Ren and Nora," Pyrrha said with a nod.

"I'll be the bad guy here," Alabaster said with a laugh. "I'll go with Tundra and Crimson."

"Don't think Nora and Ren will win?" Emerald asked with a teasing smile.

"Nah. Just no fun if everyone bets on the same side."

"Weiss? Jaune?"

"Abstain," Weiss said simply.

"Aw come on. That's no fun," Emerald pouted.

"I don't prefer to bet," Weiss explained, looking back down at her Scroll, ending the line of discussion. Then glanced up sharply. "What are you even betting?"

They looked at each other. "Um...pretzels?"

"Suits me just fine," Alabaster agreed, and Ruby nodded eagerly.

"Well, no reason you can't bet, Jaune," Emerald said. "So what'll it be?"

"I'm with Pyrrha. I can't bet against my teammates," he said.

"Alright. Then that's three against one."

"You're not betting?" Jaune asked.

"Not fair for the scorekeeper to bet," Emerald said with a wink. "Now let's watch. It seems like it'll be their turn soon."

On cue, the previous fight ended, a student with a heavy mace winning over his opponent, signalling the end of the singles rounds. Both participants nodded in passing as the duos sat on either side. On the one side, he could see Ren and Nora talking quickly, likely going over last minute plans, and on the other side their competitors were doing the same thing.

Finally, both teams seemed to have conferred enough, and a pair of glowing squares appeared on both sides of the arena. Ren quickly settled into the further back one, shifting around for a moment until he found a position he was comfortable with. Mirroring him, Crimson took up stance in hers, and Jaune got his first look at her full kit.

The first thing he noticed was just how similar her stance was to when he'd seen Weiss fight. Considering they were both fencers, that didn't surprise him, but her weapon seemed quite different. The blade was much thicker, and instead of a simple metal crossbar, a large metallic shell covered around her hand. As she adjusted her grip, he could see it was made of shifting panels, rotating to allow her wrist to move freely.

She didn't hold a weapon in her other hand, but from the looks of the gauntlet she wore, she didn't need one. Thick metal plates covered the fingers, and several blades stuck out from the back, pointed forwards towards her fingers. Despite the heavy, vicious look, the way she held her hand was almost delicate, balancing herself precisely.

Tundra, meanwhile, took defense further. The already impressive Huntress had put on a thick leather chestpiece with carefully applied metal reinforcements. The collar rose up, sealing her in with a lining of fur and a casing of metal. Both her boots and vambraces were heavy metal, and made her look downright unmovable.

In contrast, her weapon seemed almost too light. It was a mid-length, one-handed axe with a curved head. Though as he looked at it closer, it seemed that even the tips of the axehead were sharpened, making it dangerous even when locked.

Jaune looked nervously at his teammates. Ren was completely unarmored, and he suddenly realized that Nora wasn't wearing her arm or leg armouring. His first thought was that she had simply forgotten, but considering she'd been checking her equipment before the match, he doubted that. Maybe there was a reason. Speed, perhaps?

He didn't have much time to think about it as Nora and Tundra stepped into their respective squares, facing each other down. As soon as they had both settled in on their positions, the screens overhead began a countdown as the recorded voice of Professor Goodwitch narrated: "Three. Two. One."

The opening volley was almost too fast to follow. The second the buzzer went off, Tundra had lunged forward, leaning into her shield, no doubt anticipating a clash against her melee counterpart. But instead, Nora had faded back, gaining space as Tundra overextended slightly, though she didn't punish it.

Instead, Ren's guns seemed to materialize in his hands and he fired a burst at Tundra, who easily took the shots across her shield. Crimson rushed around the side opposite to Nora, flicking her foil at Ren. The blade seemed to compress and stretch, whipping out towards Ren, who threw himself to the side as Crimson's hand twitched, making the blade dance to the side.

Before she could correct, one of Nora's grenades had sailed towards her, and she retracted the blade back, bringing it up to block. In a flash, Ren was moving towards her, just as Nora shifted her hammer back, moving up to engage Tundra.

At the same moment, Nora's hammer clipped the edge of Tundra's shield while Ren's blades bounced off Crimson's blade. Both teams seemed to recoil for a split instant, and Jaune was impressed at how synchronized Nora and Ren were despite not saying anything.

Then Tundra lashed out her axe, hooking Nora's haft and pinning it against her shield. Tugging hard, she tried to pull Nora off balance before punching out with her shield, but Nora brought up the handle of her hammer, blocking it.

At the same time, Crimson flicked her blade out, trying to slash at Ren, but every swipe met thin air as he dashed back. With a twist, the blade began to extend, but Ren pushed the momentary pause, closing in. With her weapon in its whip form, she was forced to use her other hand, blocking one of his blades with her gauntlet, but the other one was out of her reach. He let off a quick volley starting from her feet up towards her chest before yanking his blade out of her grasp, his shots biting into her Aura.

Tundra turned to look at her teammate, and Nora capitalized on Ren's distraction by firing off the backports of her hammer, forcing it down towards Tundra. Under the sudden force, Tundra was forced down, turning to take the haft across the shoulder, rather than let it hit her directly. Using the momentum, she rolled back, disengaging from Nora towards Crimson's side.

"This isn't working," Tundra shouted, eying her foes carefully. "You go after her, I'll handle him."

The pair broke, charging their respective opponents. Tundra tried to shield charge again, but Ren had an easier time dodging her. He didn't even try to lock with her, and his blades were enough to redirect any of her axe swipes. Crimson, meanwhile, had her blade in whip form and was pressing on Nora, who was letting the attacks slide off her hammer handle. Even though Nora had the Aura advantage, Crimson's lash was faster, and could deal serious damage to Nora's Aura if unchecked.

However, one of the attacks wrapped the whip around her haft, and Crimson quickly dug in her heels, yanking back. Nora held on tight, triggering her backports again. The sudden kickback caught Crimson by surprise, and she was yanked off her feet. To her credit, she rolled to a kneel.

But it didn't matter, as Nora had already lined up the shot, and a couple of grenades impacted into the Huntress. With her whip still wrapped around the barrel of the gun, she was unable to defend herself, and she was flung backwards, her Aura depleting to disqualification levels, flickering violently.

The overhead buzzer blared, and everything stopped. Tundra glanced over her shoulder, seeing her partner out. With a sigh, she raised her weapon hand high, and the screen called out a forfeit. After Crimson got up, the pairs met in the middle, shaking hands.

The audience began to applaud, and Jaune couldn't help but be impressed. They'd done even better than he'd imagined. Glancing over at Emerald, he could see she was confused about something. "What's the matter?"

"Why did she give up? She'd barely been touched," Emerald asked.

"It's an old tradition. If your partner went down, you were expected to cede victory. After all, two versus one is not fair," Pyrrha explained.

"And in a real combat situation, you'd try and rescue your companion, not fight on," Alabaster added grimly.

"These days, it is considered bad form to waste your opponents' time and resources once you are beaten since you are just weakening them before their next fight," Pyrrha finished.

Jaune waited a moment to see if there was anything else Emerald wanted to say, but after a moment, he stood up, gesturing for her to come with him. "Come on, let's go congratulate them!"

* * *

Ruby had watched the fight with avid interest. When Tundra's axe came down, she could practically feel the weighting in her hand, fingers twitching as she imagined the grip. From a distance, it looked like it had a straight handle, but it could be improved with a few ridges and some padding.

A flash made her jump slightly, and she looked for the source. Another girl in a brown suit of armour with golden trims held up a rather nice looking camera, photographing the fight. The pair of long ears on her head marked her as a Faunus, which Ruby had seen quite a few of over the past few days. Maybe not as many as there were Humans, but more than she'd seen on Patch.

"Is this seat taken?"

Ruby jumped slightly, turning to the source of the accented voice. She was surprised to see it was the same girl, looking straight at her. Her brain stumbled a few times, trying to piece where the accent was from, who this girl was, why she was interested in her…

"If it is, that's okay. You just have a good view from here," she apologized, taking a half step back.

"No, no! It's okay, no one's using it," Ruby insisted reflexively.

"Excellent. I was hoping I might catch some of the new fighters." With a smile, the girl stood behind Ruby, turning her camera to the ring, taking a couple of pictures. Suddenly, she stopped and turned back to Ruby. "Oh, sorry, my bad. Velvet Scarlatina. Sophomore."

"Sophomore?" Ruby parroted, completely missing the offered hand.

"I though Sophomores weren't expected until tomorrow," Weiss commented, finally looking away from the fights.

"I'm from Vacuo. Foreign students arrive a little early. You're the Freshmen, right?"

"Y-Yeah." Finally, Ruby could feel her mind catch up to the conversation as she shook her hand.

"Man, do I envy you," Velvet sighed. "Nothing quite matches the wonder of coming here for the first time. How are you liking it?"

"Uh...it's fine, I guess. I haven't been here all that long, so…"

"That's fair," Velvet agreed absently, taking a couple of pictures as the two sides struggled. "Man, the Emerald Forest was a fun time. Scary as hell, but fun."

"You could say that."

Crimson's foil wrapped around Nora's hammer, and Ruby tried to imagine the strain, especially with the firing of the ports. Maybe she could do something like that with her scythe. If she modified the compensator ports…

"That was impressive," Velvet commented as she applauded.

"I agree. That last move was very impressive. A lot of control in her form," Ruby explained.

"Oh...yeah, that. I was referring to your hand. It looked like you were predicting their motions."

"Oh, was I?" Ruby asked, feeling her face flush, just now realizing she'd been mimicking movements unconsciously. Did she just mess up? What if everyone heard about it, and thought she was odd?

"It was cool," Velvet assured her. "I'm the same way, but I've never seen anyone else do it. So uh...you train a lot or is it something else?"

"Just a lot of time watching fighting. I like weapons," Ruby admitted, surprised to hear there was someone like her.

"You don't say?" Velvet replied with an amused smile. "What are the odds?"

Ruby was going to question what she meant when Velvet turned the camera so she could see the screen. What she had expected was pictures of the fight, and that's partially what she got. But the pictures were oddly focused, with large parts of the people in them out of frame. The only consistent thing between them was their weapons being visible. Front and center, even.

"I like looking at other weapons," Velvet explained. "And especially how people use them. Even weapons in the same family can be vastly different if you build them from even slightly different materials or Semblances."

"Not to mention styles," Ruby agreed. "And even people trained in the same style can move differently depending on their body."

"Exactly!" Velvet clapped. "Tell me, are you taking the equipment course?"

"Well, sorta…" Ruby wavered. "I'm trying to decide what level to take."

"Ah, you have to choose. Well, speaking from experience, the higher level course is a lot more fun, and you learn a lot more. The intro course is basically a refresher for stuff like how to sharpen your weapons properly, or identifying components. No theory or anything."

"Wait, did you take it?"

"Yep. First year, I took the higher level course. Rest of my team got stuck in intro. At first, Coco, our leader, was annoyed, but she kept telling me how proud she was of me."

Ruby nodded, mulling it over, but her attention was drawn by a student coming up the steps. It took her a second to place him, but she realized it was the victor of the last singles round. Cardin...something. He was heads above them in height, and built like a brick house with short brown hair and a satisfied smile. Thinking back on some of her sister's words, she realized this was a perfect chance for some harmless socialization. All she had to do was say something congratulatory, and he'd be on his way.

"Uh...good match!" she managed as he neared. Cardin looked up in mild surprise before a grin spread across his face.

"It's always good to be recognized," he boasted, leaning on the seats across the aisle. "So what is a group like yours doing…"

Cardin paused as he looked at Velvet, his smile dropping a half inch. The silence was only there for a moment before he looked back at Ruby, forcing the smile back up. "Doing here?"

"Just enjoy watching matches," Ruby explained, feeling her panic rising. This was supposed to be easy. But now she was talking, and she was inevitably going to shove her foot in her mouth at some point.

"You seem a bit young to be here," he pointed out before striking a pose. "Thinking of being a big, strong Huntsman when you grow up?"

"Actually, I'm a Freshman here," Ruby explained, smiling slightly at the joke. Or at least, she thought it was a joke. However, she began to doubt herself as Cardin looked her up and down, almost predatorily.

"Well, we'll have to get you in the ring sometime, see how you shape up." With that cryptic remark, he stood back up, and left them. Ruby watching him go in confusion, not sure what had just happened.

"What an arse," Velvet muttered irritatedly.

"You can say that again," Alabaster grumbled.

"Wait, what?"

"You mean you didn't get that feeling from him?" Velvet asked in surprise. "When he saw my ears, he paused, and he basically called you a kid."

"I am a kid."

"Yeah, but he basically dismissed you outright. Aren't you the least bit offended?"

"I thought he was just surprised. Besides, you don't know how good someone is at fighting until you get them in the arena. It's just how fighting works."

Alabaster scoffed and Velvet sighed in defeat, standing after a moment. "Well, don't let him walk over you. And hey, if you do decide to take that upper division course, I'm going to be one of the assistants, so feel free to ask any questions you want."

Flipping out her scroll, Velvet began typing before pausing. "You know, I just realized I never actually got your name. I can't well find you without it."

"Oh, Ruby. Ruby Rose. Team WARP."

"Ah, there you are," Velvet hummed, flicking through menus. She pressed a button, and Ruby felt her scroll buzz. "Wait a minute...you're the teams that got all those bonus points, aren't you?"

"Uh...I guess. Are...are people talking about it?" Ruby asked nervously, and she felt everyone in the group turn to look at her.

"Only some. I know Coco was talking about it. She's...interested in up and coming teams you could say," Velvet answered hesitantly. "But I wouldn't be surprised if a few of the more competitive students started trying to challenge you. Happened to us, too. In any case, I should get going. Hope to see you around!"

Ruby quietly waved as Velvet left, her head spinning in multiple simultaneous thoughts. It felt like she'd just had a mountain of information dumped on her, and she wasn't sure how to handle it. She didn't know how to deal with any of this. She just wanted to be a Huntress.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

With a deep sigh, Ruby slumped down into her chair, leaning forward to drape her body over the desk. All at once, the anxious energy that had been fueling her dissipated, and she was left with exhaustion.

The morning so far had been hectic. Even though they'd all prepared for classes last night, the ever present feeling of forgetting something hung over them like a thick cloud, and for Ruby, that went double, or maybe triple. She just thanked her lucky stars the ever-composed Weiss kept them in-line, even if it did make her sound like a drill sergeant.

Still, they had made great time, reaching their first classroom with ten minutes to spare, and claiming one of the two front rows, with Weiss on her left next to the aisle, and Pyrrha and Alabaster to her right by the door. Ruby wasn't entirely sure she liked being in the front row where a teacher could glare at her, but it was better than being in one of the seventh rows at the back. The "binocular seats" as her dad had called them.

A light clunk on the desk made her lazily turn her head so she could look at Weiss, who was laying out her workspace with an almost mechanical precision. Instead of her usual hand-held Scroll, she'd placed a fairly large Tome in front of her, the stylus laying beside it. Ruby had seen a few Tomes when she'd visited the city, but never used one herself.

By comparison, her notebook and pencils seemed downright archaic, but she felt reassured when Alabaster and Pyrrha both pulled out the same. At least she wasn't the only one who was using paper. She did one last check of her bag to make sure she had everything she needed. She was _sure_ there'd be something she'd forget or just not have, but she could probably find it if need be.

Probably.

It wasn't long before the first group of students came in. Ruby didn't recognize the team right away, but one of the three girls looked familiar. Dark hair, golden eyes, a cute bow; it was the girl who had walked by when she had bumped into Weiss. Ruby waved politely, but the girl's eyes locked onto Weiss instead, scowling slightly, then looking away as if it weren't worth her time. Fortunately, she seemed content to settle as far away from Weiss as she could in the other front row.

Then a familiar mop of blonde hair half-fell through the door. "Aaaaaand we made it," Jaune announced, catching his breath while his team arrived more orderly behind him.

"Everything alright, Jaune?" Pyrrha asked, half-rising to help him, but he waved her off, popping up with a smile.

"Yep! Just wanted to make sure we got here early. As my mom always said, if you're not early, you're late!" His team slid into the row behind them, with Jaune behind Weiss, followed by Nora and Ren, and Emerald capping the end. "I see you guys got here even earlier."

"Of course. It is important to be timely, especially on the first day," Weiss explained matter-of-factly. Ruby smiled to herself as she listened to their teams chit-chat and share morning stories. It was almost enough to make her forget the classes ahead of her.

Then the other students started pouring in, instantly reminding her. All of a sudden, dozens of faces swarmed into view with a cacophony of voices that made Ruby want to sink into her seat. The one saving grace was that they were all too busy looking for seats to look at her.

Even though she was prepared, Ruby couldn't help but tense when Professor Goodwitch stepped into the room. For whatever reason, she seemed more intimidating now in front of the class than when she and Ruby were talking one-on-one in their advising meeting. Ruby's memory flashed back to the chewing out she received the night she was recruited, and she sunk a little lower in her seat.

"Attention, please," Professor Goodwitch announced calmly but firmly with an equally hard look. "My name is Professor Goodwitch, and I am your Freshman Year Seminar professor."

She began writing on the board as she spoke. "All freshman students are required to take this course. The intent is to acclimate students from a variety of backgrounds and skill levels in order to establish a solid foundation of training and behaviours going forward. Today, we will be covering course guidelines and expectations of the academy, as well as take a short, un-graded test."

Immediately, there were groans, but she silenced them quickly. "I assure you this test is not meant to be detrimental in any regard. The students of Beacon Academy come from many countries and regions, and are trained differently. The test will assess your knowledge, both of yourself, and of subjects related to being a Huntsmen. And while you may share your results once the test has concluded, the only people it will be shown to are myself and your team leaders."

She paused for a moment, letting the information sink in before turning back to the chalkboard. "Now, let us cover the rest of the information. I would like to ensure there is time before the test for questions."

For the next hour, Professor Goodwitch outlined the trajectory of the course, various classes they would be likely to take, academy policy, and other fine points. It seemed to Ruby like she'd memorized the speech down to a T, with everything chosen to convey her point as clearly as possible. Professor Goodwitch didn't waste time on side-tangents, but she also wasn't rushing, and left small pauses for students to catch up on their note-taking.

Eventually, it came time for the test. From her bag, Professor Goodwitch removed a stack of papers. With a flick of her wand, the papers spread out over the room, one landing precisely in front of each student.

"Talking is prohibited during this exam. You will have plenty of time to confer with other students about this test once it is complete. This is meant to reflect your _personal_ knowledge and experience. Remember, this is not graded or scored in any way. It is purely to serve as a guide for your own studying. You have a half hour. Begin."

Ruby instantly felt more focused. This she could do: no talking, no socializing, just a paper and herself. She skimmed through the test to see what she might expect. The first section seemed to be general questions about their prior education, as well as their history. Near the end, a rather large space was dedicated to their Semblance, as well as a series of questions.

_What is your Semblance?_

_How long can you use it for?_

_Can you affect others with it?_

_Is it affected by Dust?_

_What do you think is your greatest strength and weakness?_

_Where do you think you belong on your team?_

She turned to the next section: Grimm. A series of Grimm were pictured, with various lines attached to their body, and boxes for labelling strengths and weaknesses. Most of them she recognized, but a few she hadn't seen. After that was a section on Dust and weaponry, identifying critical components of both as well as theoretical questions on usage.

Now she was feeling less confident. Ruby had never thought much about what her next year of classes would be until she took them. The extent of her future sight had been "get to Beacon."

She'd reached the goal, but skipped some steps. Another part of her wondered how many the other students would miss, but she was certain hers would be one of the worst.

_There's no helping it_, she sighed mentally, beginning to fill in the questions. It was easy enough to answer most of the questions about herself, and she breezed through the weaponry section. She did her best to note as much as she could about the Grimm she knew, and tried to make guesses on the ones she didn't. If she wasn't getting marked down, then she could at least make guesses.

* * *

**Blake's eyes narrowed as the tests were handed out. Or more accurately, floated out.**

The rest of the students either thought nothing of it, or were muted in their surprise at the display of Professor Goodwitch's Semblance. In just a small gesture, Blake read a lot more. Firstly, the simple knowledge of what the professor's Semblance was; some form of telekinesis. Whether it was limited to paper or not was a question for another time.

Secondly, that Goodwitch was _powerful_. Some Semblances triggered reflexively, or without the wielder's direct input. And while stressful situations could cause one to use a controlled Semblance reflexively, it was far more common for training to focus on increasing control and endurance in using a Semblance. Given that the Professor had casually used her Semblance in such a perfectly controlled manner with no sign of strain betrayed that she was incredibly skilled and trained.

"You have a half hour. Begin."

The professor's voice cut through her thoughts, and she turned her attention to the paper in front of her. She first gave a quick skim of the general contents, reading the questions. It was actually somewhat comprehensive for how short it was.

But it was hardly simple or thoughtless.

Even at the first question, she had to pause. _What is your Semblance?_

A part of her was tempted to not answer, or simply write that she didn't know. Semblances were unique, so if they knew her Semblance, and she used it outside the school, they would be able to track it back to her.

But on the other hand, not reporting her Semblance could cause potential issues. She had no doubt the school had programs designed to try and assist students in discerning their Semblances, and if she slipped up and showed that she knew more than she should, it would just attract undue attention anyway. Reluctantly, she put down some basic details. No need to put all her cards on the table.

Some of the other questions were interesting. _Where do you think you belong on your team?_

On Adam's...her old team, she was the second in command, and often led one of the strike teams. Given a set of objectives and some intel, she was good at creating a plan and preparing people for it. Her old leader was better at the overhead management, like getting the intel, predicting enemy movements, and the like.

While she was more than capable of leading her team, Imperial had been chosen instead. So far, she'd determined he was somewhat experienced, and receptive. Not as hardened as her or any of her past teams, but a touch above some of the other students. It wouldn't be hard to work her way into a secondary command position, especially given that Ilia was already deferential to her.

But that would come with increased scrutiny that would hinder her true objectives, and he already seemed partial to Sangria being his secondary. So she wouldn't mess with that dynamic. Instead, she decided to focus on what skills she could offer. Imperial could figure out the group dynamics. _Stealth, scouting, mobility_.

The Grimm identification section was easy. The White Fang used many Grimm as inspiration, and given that they often had their bases set up in the wilderness on multiple continents, a basic knowledge of all Grimm was required once you rose beyond a certain rank. Dust and weaponry were similarly easy. When most of what you were working with was liberated from corporate freight trains and cobbled together weaponry, you had to know how to make what you had work.

Blake allowed herself to relax a moment as she finished up with the test. Despite the lowball questions, she suspected actual classes would be harder, and she couldn't afford to let her guard down. She took the moment to glance at the rest of the team through her peripherals.

Imperial seemed hyper focused on his test, moving smoothly and swiftly through the questions. The only hesitation he displayed was a brief pause as he read the words. Given that he'd been made leader, she had no doubt that he knew his material.

Sangria seemed equally focused, but compared to Imperial's rigid, upright posture, she leaned over her paper, and actually made it quite hard to see what she was working on. Still, the motion of her pencil suggested she was breezing through the test, though she had longer pauses than their leader.

And finally, Ilia. Blake had no doubt that Ilia would do just fine on the test. Grimm would be easy for her, and she would get most of the Dust and weaponry category correct. Compared to her, Ilia had been a member for a shorter period of time, but possessed a similar level of devotion and drive. There were still things that she didn't know, and she let her enthusiasm get the better of her on some occasions.

Still, by parts, the team was strong, and she had no doubt they'd be able to perform sufficiently. No, the hard part would be living the life of a student.

* * *

Ruby felt significantly less confident as she walked out into the plaza with the other students. After their seminar class, the teams were expected to break and attend their special interest classes to get used to taking some classes alone.

Walking up to one of the statues, Ruby took a brief moment to orient herself. She'd gone over the maps of the campus the past few nights, trying to memorize her schedule. The forge was to the right of the statue…

...which was to her left, since she was looking at it from the wrong direction. Fortunately, if anyone noticed her stop and turn around, they didn't comment, too concerned with going to their own classes. Still, she couldn't help but feel nervous. She just wanted to get to her class and get it over with now. Wrapping her cloak a bit tighter, she activated her Semblance, taking care to go wide around people as she zipped passed them.

Only a couple of moments later, she skidded to a stop in front of the forge. In contrast to the towering buildings elsewhere, it was a low-slung, broad building that reflected utility over design with its sturdy walls and sooty windows that leaked steam into the cold morning air. Just the familiar scent of hot metal and charred Dust made her feel more at ease, and she tentatively cracked open the door.

The forge looked very similar to the one at Signal, with a bank of crucibles and ladles on the far left wall. Aside from some tables to work on the freshly poured metal, there was a wide area around them, with carefully marked lanes so people wouldn't cross in front of each other. The majority of the floor was taken up with worktables, where students tinkered and tested. Behind them were multiple shelves of components and parts, all labelled and organized. Finally, the actual classroom itself was to her right, carefully sealed off to prevent lectures from being interrupted by work.

Opening the door, she felt the temperature immediately drop from the general swelter of the forge to the slight warmth of an air conditioner struggling to fight the heat. She paused as she saw she wasn't the only one in the classroom, and a pair of long ears perked up, followed by brown eyes.

"Oh, hey, how are you?" Velvet greeted with a small wave, looking up from paperwork.

"Oh, uh, hi. Again," Ruby returned.

"No need to linger in the door. Come on in," Velvet invited, and Ruby quickly stepped in, letting the door close behind her. "I see you decided to take 201. I'm glad to see it."

"Yeah. Everyone was saying I should," Ruby confirmed, looking around. Unlike Goodwitch's class, the classroom had individual desks in rows. When her team was with her, it was easy enough to hide, but in a classroom full of sophomores or older…

"Why don'tcha take a seat? You get the full run of 'em," Velvet offered, leaning forward with a conspiratorial look. "I recommend one of the one in the back right. You're closest to the door for workshop time, and you can still see everything just fine."

Ruby followed her advice, setting her bag under the seat. Only the slight metallic clink betrayed that she had packed Crescent Rose inside. Students were expected to take their weapons to Artifice classes, but were also advised to keep them sheathed or otherwise stowed while not in use. And that was in addition to the safety rules they all followed since they first got their weapons.

"So, uh, what do we do in this class?" Ruby asked, glancing around. Most of the walls were covered in posters of various descriptions, though they largely showed catalogues of tools or parts. Quite a few she recognized from her time at Signal.

"Well, the introductory class mostly teaches maintenance and basic tool usage. The second semester starts getting into more advanced and rigorous techniques. Here, you're assumed to have both of those, and so we start moving to theory and application."

"What kind of theory?" Ruby asked, tilting her head.

"Stuff like muzzle flash, rifling, ammo types; the technical nitty-gritty," Velvet explained with a smile. "The first semester is all the mechanical stuff, but the second is where the fun begins. Then you start working some Dust into it."

"Spoiling the class ahead of time, are we?"

Ruby turned to see a taller man standing behind them, smiling warmly. To her surprise, he was actually quite lean, though well muscled. His short sleeved shirt was clearly charred in a few places, and his apron looked even worse. But his actual skin looked surprisingly clear, the white standing out against his brown attire. Even his hair was carefully kept clean and short, just slightly longer than a buzzcut.

"Ah, Professor!" Velvet greeted, quickly jumping up from the desk she'd been leaning on. "Didn't see you come in."

"Don't worry yourself, Miss Scarletina. You're hardly in trouble, especially if you're selling the class to someone. You must be one of the new students," he noted, rounding them to the front of the room. "I'm Professor Smith, and before you ask, I do realize the irony."

"I wasn't going to, I mean I, I-"

Professor Smith just laughed heartily, a sound that seemed larger than the man himself. "It's just a joke. No need to worry yourself over it. My family has a heritage of smithing, so we keep the name going. Now, I don't recall you from Artifice 101, so you must be a new student. Transfer?"

"Uh, no...I'm a Freshman," Ruby admitted.

"Ah, that would explain it. Well, have no fear Miss…"

"Rose. Ruby Rose."

"Miss Rose. It seems you're already familiarized with Miss Scarletina. If you were allowed to take this course on the outset, then I am sure you will be able to succeed. I presume that you're taking the Intro to Dust course?"

"Yes sir."

"Good. It's a co-requisite for the second semester. I was going to recommend you take it before then, so it sounds like we're all set to go," he summarized with a nod before looking behind her. "Ah, looks like most of the class is arriving. I must prepare for class."

Professor Smith nodded to them before heading to his own desk. Ruby watched him go for a moment, feeling a little reassured by his words. Maybe she could do this after all.


End file.
